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Book A^aM^^ 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. 




F!k 1— Root Development 

Forty-four days after planting— See Chapter VIII 



®1|^ S00k af OInrn 



A Complete Treatise Upon the Culture, 
Marketing and Uses of Maize 
in America and Elsewhere 



For FARMERS, DEALERS, MANUFACTURERS 
ami OTHERS — A COMPREHENSIVE MANUAL 
Upon the PRODUCTION, SALE, USE and COM- 
MERCE of the WORLD'S GREATEST CROP 



Prepared under the direction of HERBERT 
MYRICK, by the most capable specialists, in- 
cluding among others, A. D. Shamel, in charge 
of Corn Work, Illinois Experiment Station — • 
H. J. Waters, Director Missouri Experiment 
Station — E. B. Vooriiees, Director New Jersey 
Experiment Station — Albert W. Fulton, Man- 
aging Editor American Agriculturist Weeklies 
— J. C. Arthur, Purdue University, Indiana — 
Willis G. Johnson, late State Entomologist of 
Maryland, Associate Editor American Agricul- 
turist — Levi Stockbridge, ex-President Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural College — Clarence A. 
Shamel, Associate Editor Orange Judd Farmer 
— H. N. Starnes, Georgia Agricultural College 
— B. W. Snow, Statistician Orange Judd Farmer 



Profitarlg SUuatralrJii 
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY 

New York Nineteen Hundred and Three Chicago 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two Copier. Received 

MAR 24 1903 

Cop/tight Entry 
CLASS CU XXcVlo 
CO 



OPY B. V 



CoPVRHiHT, iq03 
BY 

Orange Jlijd Company 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 

Brief History of the Corn Plant .... 1-4 

Its antiquity — Original form of the species 
not yet identified — Early names given it by 
Indians. 

CHAPTER H 

Botany and Varieties 5-36 

Outline of species groups, flint corns, soft 
corns, sweet corns, pop corns, etc — Development 
of the various strains — Varieties of dent corn 
carefully described — History of famous and 
well known kinds — Their characteristics de- 
scribed in detail. 

CHAPTER HI 

Principles of Corn Growth and Feeding . . 37-54 
Necessary conditions for best plan^ growth — 
Forms of atmospheric food — Root system de- 
scribed and illustrated — Methods of obtaining 
nitrogen^ — Clover as a valuable nurse crop — 
Other leguminous crops, including best varieties 
of cowpeas. 

CHAPTER IV 

Breeding and Selection of Seed Corn . . . 55-69 
Corn breeding a specialized industry — Its field 
very great — Approved methods of breeding — 
Influence of soil on development — The breeding 
field — Cross-pollinated corn — Best storehouse 
for seed corn — Selection of seed corn in the 
field. 



iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER V 

Corn Judging 70-82 

The types to be considered — Standards of 
perfection — An approved score card, with ex- 
, planation of points — Rules for judging — Variety 
standards and practical hints — How to study 
shape, uniformity, color, tip, butt, circumfer- 
ence, length, etc — Kernel uniformity and pro- 
portion of corn to cob. 

CHAPTER VI 

Preparing the Seedbed 8.3-91 

Conditions of germination — Best depth of 
plowing — Fall or spring plowing — Disking and 
subsoiling — Proper conditions of soil for the 
plow. 

CHAPTER VH 

Feeding the Plant 92-110 

Soil characteristics a guide to needs of the 
plant — Character and functions of manures and 
fertilizers — Form to apply nitrogen, phosphoric 
acid, potash, etc — Guides in use of plant food — 
Approved fertilizer formulas — Fertilizers for 
silage corn — Manures for sweet corn. 

CHAPTER Vni 

Planting and Cultivating 111-123 

Proper depth of planting — Hilling or drilling — 
Listing corn — Testing the germinating power of 
seed corn — Cultivation to conserve moisture — 
Root pruning — Approved implements in culti- 
vating. 

CHAPTER IX 

Silos — Location, Construction and Filling . . 124-139 
General classes of silos — Merits of the round 
silo and methods of construction — Various 
other forins — Table showing capacity of round 
silos — Putting corn into the silo — Loading and 
hauling — Cutting into proper lengths — Handling 
stalks uncut — Cost of nutting in silage — Pre- 
serving green crops without silo. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS V 

CHAPTER X 

Harvesting 140-162 

Best stages of development to observe — 
Water and dry matter at different periods- 
Cutting corn for fodder, and best time for this 
work — Shocking and binding — Use of shred- 
der — Husking standing corn — Cribs to use — 
Shrinkage of ear corn. 

CHAPTER XI 
Culture Outside the Corn Belt .... 163-187 
Methods followed in the south and east — The 
Dunton system — The double row or ahernating 
method— New and old ways of harvesting in the 
south^One acre yields 255 bushels — Culture in 
eastern and New England states — Returning 
favor for field corn — Culture under irrigation — 
Proper time for flooding — Frequency of ap- 
plication — Amount of water to apply. 

CHAPTER XH 

Feeding 188-223 

Chemical composition in corn — Digestible 
nutrients — Corn the best single stock food — 
List of foods rich in protein — Foodstuffs for 
balancing corn — Feeding dairy cows and grow- 
ing steers — Corn as a feed for swine and 
horses — In fattening poultry — Feeding value of 
corn stover — Experiments in fattening steers. 

CHAPTER XIII 

Marketing 224-240 

The splendid home demand — Methods of dis- 
tribution in vogue — The line elevator system — 
Sale of corn on 'change — Speculative grain 
trade — Non-farm consumption—Foreign outlet 
— The best buyers of American corn — Country 
elevator system — Co-operative storing and 
handling^Inspection and grades. 

CHAPTER XIV 

Corn Pests and Diseases 241-288 

A myriad of insect pests— The most vulner- 
able portions of the corn plan — Wireworms 
injure seed in the ground — Methods of combat- 
ing—Injury by white grub— Cutworms attack 
stalks and leaves— Can be held in check by 
poisons — Arresting the march of the army 
worm — Approved methods of controlling chinch 
bug — Pests in bin and granary. 



vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XV 

Cost of Growing Corn 289-311 

Exhaustive investigations recorded — Tabu- 
lated records of 4000 acres — Items entering into 
the cost — Deductions reached. 

CHAPTER XVI 

New Uses for Corn 312-317 

Various classes of products — The corn mill- 
ing industr3' — Glucose — Cornstalks in mechanic 
arts. 

CHAPTER XVII 

Specialties in Corn Culture 318-330 

Sweet corn for canneries — Best conditions of 
soil and climate — For the family garden — Cul- 
tivation and harvest — Sweet corn fodder — 
Standard varieties of sweet corn — Cultivation 
of pop corn — Harvesting and marketing. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

Maize in Other Countries 331-340 

The crop of the world — Our chief competi- 
tors — Corn culture in Europe and Argentina — 
Slow expansion in area. 

Appendix .... 341-364 
Tables showing crop and movement — Exports 
from United States — Prices for a series of years 
— Record crops in the American Agricufturist 
contest — Manurial value of feeding stuffs — 
Average composition of maize. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Root Development . . . . 

Uniform Ears, Boone County White 
Uniform Sample, Boone County White . 

Reid's Yellow Dent 

Length of Ear, Boone County White 
Circumference of Ear, Boone County White 

Leaming Corn 

Boone County White Corn 

Shape of Ears, Boone County White 

Kernel Indentation, Boone County White 

Large, Medium and Small Cob, Boone County 

Maturity, Boone County White 

Space Between Rows . 

Samples of Clover 

Attractive Field of Cowpeas 

Good Specimen Soy Bean Plant 

Corn Silk 

Effect of Inbreeding . 

Effect of Three Years' Inbreeding 

Effect of Four Years' Inbreeding 

Young Ear of Corn Before Silking 

Pollen Grains on Silk 

Proper and Improper Shapes of Kernel 

Pollen Grains .... 

Homemade Land Roller 

Direction of Rows of Kernels, Boone 

Corn Crib on Scales . 

Modern Corn Crib 

Corn Marker for Hand Planting 

Homemade Corn Planter . 

Effects of Listing 

Root Development of Corn in Field 

Distribution of Hoops on Stave Silo 

Construction of Studding Silo . 

Cheap Stave Silo 

Silo Attached to Barn 

Low Wagon for Handling Silage Corn . 

Placing Bundles in Square and Round Silo 

Filling the Silo 



County White 



White 



Page 
Frontispiece 

3 
II 
i6 

19 
21 

23 
25 
27 
29 
31 
33 
35 
41 
45 
49 
56 
59 
62 

65 



68 
73 
78 
85 
88 

99 

lOI 

112 
114 

117 
121 
125 
128 
130 
133 
135 
137 
138 



Vlll 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Simple Corn Cutter 

Corn Ready to Cut for Fodder . 

Corn Binder at Work in Field 

Filling Silo with Blower 

Latest Corn Husking Machine . 

Kail Corn Cribs .... 

Rat- Proof Corn Crib . 

Wagon Box Attachment 

Root Development of a Corn Plant 

Characteristics of Kernel of Corn 

California Silo Made with Studding 

Rack for Fodder .... 

Leaming Corn Variety 

What King Corn Can Accomplish 

Effects of Root Pruning 

Butts and Tips of Boone County White 

Grain Warehouse at Liverpool . 

Floating Grain Elevator 

Typical Modern Grain Warehouse 

Forms of Wireworms . 

Parent of Wire worm . 

Seed Corn Injured by Seed Corn Maggot 

Adult of White Grub 

White Grub .... 

Adult Click Beetle 

Pale Striped Flea Beetle . 

Southern Corn Root Worm 

Beetle of Southern Corn Root Worm 

Army Worm .... 

Army Worm Moth 

Larger Cornstalk Borer 

Smaller Cornstalk Borer 

Corn Root Showing Northern Corn Root Worm W 

Various Stages of Chinch Bug 

Winged Female of Corn Root Aphi 

Grain Moth .... 

Grain Weevils 

Indian Meal Moth 

Common Grain and Flour Beetle 

Two Ears f)f Snmtted Corn 

Smut Affecting the Tassels 

Smut Affecting the Joints of Stem 

Corn Smut Spores 

Seed Corn Maggot 

Corn Worm 

Com Root Aphis 

Mediterranean Flour Moth 

Adult Moth and Cutworm 



ilhin 



Page 
141 

145 
149 

153 
155 
158 
161 
165 
175 
190 

193 
194 
197 
203 
210 
217 
233 
237 
239 
242 
246 
250 
252 
253 
254 
255 
256 
257 
261 
262 
263 
265 
267 
268 
270 
272 

274 
276 

277 
279 
281 
283 
290 
292 

293 
296 
209 
301 



ILLUSTRATIONS IX 

Page 

Work of Larger Cornstalk Borer 303 

Beetle of Northern Corn Root Worm .... 305 

Ear of Corn Riddled by the Grain Moth . . . 306 

Saw-toothed Grain Beetle 307 

Cornstalk Showing Work of Smaller Cornstalk Borer . 309 

Use of Cellulose in Warships 313 

Ear of Smutted Corn 315 

Specimen Ears of Early Sweet Corn .... 321 

Varieties of Popcorn 325 

Corn Crib which Holds 20,000 Bushels .... 333 

Small Corn Crib in Feed Lot ...... 335 

Corn in Old Style Rail Cribs 337 



PUBLISHERS' PREFACE 



^/ N announcing the names of those who have had a 
^1 part in writing this book, the pubHshers are sure 
viF the work of these trained experts will at once 
command the attention and confidence of readers. 
This is the day of specialists — in medicine, in teaching, 
in mechanic arts, in commerce and the varied industries. 
So large a subject as the king of all American crops, 
maize, requires equally thorough consideration in a 
comprehensive w^ork of this character. The authors, 
therefore, have left their impress on the various chap- 
ters of The Book of Corn, which are woven into a 
compact whole, covering the various phases of history, 
development, production and distribution. 

Prepared under the careful direction of Herbert 
Myrick, president and editor of Orange Judd Company, 
the authors include the following: 

A. D. Shamel, in charge of corn work, Illinois 
experiment station. 

Henry J. Waters, director Missouri experiment 
station, and specialist in feeding live stock. 

Levi Stockbridge, ex-president Massachusetts 
agricultural college. 

Albert W. Fulton, managing editor American 
Agrictilfiirist Weeklies. 

Edward B, Voorhees, director New Jersey experi- 
ment station. 

Hugh N. Starnes, Georgia agricultural college. 

Clarence A. Shamel, associate editor Orange Judd 



XU PUBLISHERS PREFACE 

Farmer, Chicaj^o. 

Luther Foster, director New Mexico •experiment 
station. 

Willis G. Johnson, late state entomologist of Mary- 
land, associate editor American Aij;riculfnrist. 

C. S. Phelps recently of Connecticut agricultural 
college. 

Dr F. M. Hexanier of the American institute, and 
editor emeritus American Agriculturist. 

Joseph C. Arthur, botanist Purdue university, 
Indiana. 

E. C. Powell, associate editor Neiv England 
Homestead. 

B. W. Snow, statistician Orange Judd Farmer. 

Orange Judd Company. 



INTRODUCTION 



M 



Y chief regret in not visiting America is that I 

shall die without beholding what I conceive to 

be the most superb crop that grows, as it is, in 

itself, the most valuable," was the tribute to 

American maize, paid to the author by Sir John B. 

Lawes, the great Englishman, who did so much for 

scientific agriculture. 

Impressed with this view of the corn plant, emi- 
nent specialists in the scientific and practical aspects of 
the maize industry have co-operated with singular 
enthusiasm in the preparation of the present work. The 
careful reader will marvel at the close co-operation of 
science with practice in the evolution of the corn plant 
and of the industries dependent upon it. There is no 
more fascinating or important chapter in American 
agriculture. 

To the practical farmer, feeder or corn grower, 
much that the following pages contain must come as a 
revelation. The man whose knowledge of this subject 
is reallv comprehensive will be first to recognize the 
value and correctness of the mass of well-digested data 
herein set forth. And even the farmer who is wedded 
to the view that one hundred bushels of maize never 
have been and never can be grown on one acre, will 
perhaps obtain from this book a wider horizon and a 
larger inspiration as to the possibilities of corn culture. 
When two hundred and fifty-five bushels of 
shelled corn, containing two hundred and thirty-five 
bushels of crib-cured or dry grain, are raised on one 



XIV INTRODUCTION 

acre — nearly ten times the average crop of the United 
States — the marvels of the corn plant must be recog- 
nized. When forty-five crops all over the country 
average ninety bushels of corn per acre, when improve- 
ment also in the chemical composition of the grain 
itself is demonstrated, and when the uses of the plant 
are becoming so manifold, it is full time to grasp what 
maize may mean to the world in general and to Amer- 
ica in particular. 

For the United States possesses practically a mo- 
nopoly of the corn crop. Other countries produce from 
one-fifth to one-fourth of the world's supply, yet while 
this foreign production is capable of much expansion, 
the possibilities of corn culture in the United States 
are practically unlimited. This is in marked contrast 
to wheat, the production of which in Canada and 
Siberia, as well as in other regions, is destined to 
increase the already keen competition felt by American 
wheat in the world's market. It is evident, also, that 
new markets and new uses for the corn crop, both at 
home and abroad, are likely to keep pace with increased 
production. The larger exportation of corn from this 
country to Europe is but a foretaste of what is to come, 
while the possibilities of the Orient as a market for 
corn have hardly been touched upon. Of course this 
crop, both the corn and the fodder, should be very 
largely sold on the hoof or in the form of butter, milk 
or cheese, in order to maintain the highest agricultural 
prosperity. 

The financial importance of corn to national pros- 
perity is further emphasized by the fact that every cent 
that can be added to the price of a bushel of com means 
an increased profit to the American farmer of twenty- 
five million dollars annually, a figure that will be 
doubled, when the United States produces five thousand 



INTRODUCTION XV 

million bushels of corn in a single year, or twice the 
maximum grown up to this time. Such a doubling of 
the crop is by no means impossible, since yields of from 
fifty to one hundred bushels per acre, and even more, 
are becoming increasingly common. Moreover, corn 
readily adapts itself in various varieties to the soil and 
climate of all sections, it is easy of cultivation, and its 
value, both as a human food and a feed or forage for 
animals, encourages a wide growth. The superiority of 
the corn plant over other crops in these respects invites 
carelessness in its cultivation, and this accounts for the 
apparently low average yield per acre, which, however, 
is generous in comparison with the small grains. 

Special emphasis should also be placed upon the 
corn plant as a renovating crop, whereas wheat and 
other small grains have relatively an exhaustive efifect 
upon the soil. Unlike wheat, the production of which 
depends upon an ample supply of available nitrogen in 
or to the soil, maize possesses wonderful ability to 
gather in and assimilate nitrogen in many forms, as 
well as other elements of nutrition. To what degree 
the corn plant actually takes nitrogen from the air, 
either of the atmosphere or of the soil, experience 
shows that, if the land contains an abundance of phos- 
phoric acid and potash, the more expensive nitrogen 
need not be largely applied in order to produce large 
and profitable crops of corn. Herein lies the explana- 
tion of the great yields produced under years of suc- 
cessive cropping in the American corn belt. This fact 
also demonstrates the fundamental value of corn in 
crop rotation, and its restorative effect upon the soil's 
fertility. 

The various chapters which follow tell their own 
story, but a wealth of valuable data is also given in 
the Appendix — notably, the results in the now historic 



XVI INTRODUCTION 

corn contest conducted by American A^ricnltnrist. The 
book is presented in the confidence that, in spite of its 
imperfections, it may prove effective in promoting that 
larp^e improvement and vast development of the maize 
industry in America which is so confidently expected 
by the enthusiastic growers of Zca Mays. 

Herbert Myrick. 



r/^^ BOOK o/ CORN 



CHAPTER I 

Srirf l^tfltnrij of tijp i£am plant 

^i NDIAN corn is undoubtedly native to America, 
^1 although for a long time some writers claimed 
vi/ it was of Asiatic origin. But as corn was 
not known in the old world until after it 
was found in the new, there can be hardly any doubt 
as to its original habitat. At present botanists 
almost unanimously concede that corn originated in 
America, and it is probable that it is indigenous to 
Mexico, although some of the South American table- 
lands present equally favorable conditions for the 
origination of a species of this character. 

At the time of the discovery of the new continent 
corn was one of the staples of agriculture from the 
La Plata valley northward to the United States. It 
has names in all the languages. The natives planted it 
around their temporary dwellings where they did not 
form a fixed population. Indian corn was found as a 
common food when Europeans first landed in New 
York. Extensive fields of this grain were cultivated 
and the grain preserved for food. When Cartier vis- 
ited Hochelaga, now called Montreal, in 1535, that 
town was situated in the midst of extensive cornfields. 



2 THE BOOK OF CORN 

In 1620 the Pilgrims found quite extensive plantings 
near Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Columbus found it 
on the West India islands about the end of the fifteenth 
century. The burial mounds of the natives of North 
America who preceded those of our day, the tombs of 
the Incas, the catacombs of Peru, contain ears or 
grains of corn, just as the monuments of ancient Egypt 
contain grains of barley and wheat and millet seed. In 
IMexico, a goddess who bore a name derived from 
that of maize (Cinteotl) answered to the Ceres of the 
Greeks. At Cusco the virgins of the sun ofifered sacri- 
fices of bread made from com. 

The Antiquity of Corn — Nothing is better cal- 
culated to show the antiquity and generality of the 
cultivation of a plant than this intimate connection 
with the religious rites of the ancient inhabitants. A 
most remarkable proof of the antiquity of corn has 
been discovered by Darwin. He found ears of Indian 
corn and eighteen species of shells of our epoch buried 
in the soil of the shore in Peru, now at least eighty-five 
feet above the level of the sea. The Smithsonian in- 
stitution at Washington has. an ear of corn found de- 
posited in an earthen vessel eleven feet under ground, 
in a grave with a mummy near Ariquepc in Peru. The 
grains are rather sharp pointed, small, and slightly 
indented at the apex, lapping one over the other in 
thirteen rows. 

Although nearly all parts of tropical and sub- 
tropical America have been explored by a great num- 
ber of bcitanists. none has found corn in the condition 
of a wild plant, and the original form of the species is 
not identified as yet. Probably it may be a composite 
species of which no single form can be taken as the 
type. Some botanists consider that Indian corn orig- 
inated from teosinte (Euclilacna Mcxicana), an annual 
fodder grass, similar to corn in general appearance 



HISTORY OF THE CORN PLANT 3 

and in the structure of the flowers, but differing- in not 
forming an ear. This is extensively grown in Mexico 
and as experiments in crossing teosinte and corn have 
resulted in producing cornlike plants, the very close 
affinity of the two plants is clearly proven. 

In sumniiiig up the conditions of Indian corn and 
its habitation in America before it was cultivated, the 
famous French botanist, A. de Candolle, savs : "We 




330 ,«i 3.5-2 

Fig 2— Uniform Ears of Boone County White 

have nothing but conjectural knowledge. Maize is a 
plant singularly unprovided with means of dispersion 
and protection. The grains are hard to detach from 
the ear, which is itself enveloped. They have no tuft 
or wings to catch the wind, and when the ear is not 
gathered by man the grains fall still fixed in the recep- 
tacle, and then rodents and other animals must destroy 



4 THE BOOK OF CORN 

them in quantities, and all the more that they are not 
sufficiently hard to pass intact through the digestive 
organs. Prohably so unprotected a species was be- 
coming more and more rare in some limited regions, 
and was on the point of becoming extinct, when a wan- 
dering tribe of savages, having perceived its nutritious 
qualities, saved it from destruction by cultivating it. 
I am the more disposed to believe that its natural area 
was small, that the species is unique ; that is to say, 
that it constitutes what is called a single-typed genus. 
The genera which contain few species, and especially 
the monotypes, have as a rule more restricted areas 
than others. Paleontology will perhaps one day show 
whether there ever existed in America several species 
of Zea, or similar gramineae, of which maize is the last 
survivor. Now, the genus Zca is not only a monotype, 
but stands almost alone in its family." 

Whether the true origin of Indian corn, one of the 
most important cereals of the world, will ever be ascer- 
tained, is doubtful. But so much is certain, that the 
white settlers of America early learned from the native 
Indians the use of corn as an article of food. Several 
Indian names for certain preparations, such as samp, 
hominy, succotash, have passed into the language of 
the American people. 

Since these early days, when cultivation was very 
crude, the grain has been improved so that it is now 
adapted to almost any climatic condition in the United 
States. The Indians planted their corn with sticks. 
Floods and drouths wrought havoc with the corn 
plants. Lack of cultivation and the constant struggle 
for existence prevented large development of the 
kernel. The early samples of corn were diminutive 
compared with those of to-day. 



CHAPTER II 



Untaug anJi Barirtipa 

^i NDIAN corn belongs to the gramineae or grass 
• ^1 family. Botanically i* is known as Zea Mays. 
^U' This botanical name has a double meaning. 
Zea is probably derived from two Greek words 
meaning "I live" and "spelt," a grain with which 
the Greeks were familiar. The word maize is derived 
from the Haytian word "mahiz," which Columbus 
adopted when in Hayti. The word corn as com- 
monly used the world over means any kind of grain 
used for food by man and animals. In the United 
States, it is applied to maize alone. When Europeans 
first landed in America and found this kind of 
corn they used the prefix Indian to distinguish it 
from the corn with which they were familiar in the 
old world. The corn plants vary greatly in hight, 
ranging from three to as high as sixteen or seventeen 
feet, but the standard hight is from five to eight feet. 
One main central stem bears the ears and long, broad, 
tapering leaves. 

The plant is monoecious, that is, the male and 
female flowers are borne separately. The male flowers 
are borne on the tassels at the top of the stalk and pro- 
duce the pollen. The pollen grains are produced about 
the time the silks^ or female flowers, develop. The 
pollen is present in very great abundance, and it is 
estimated that each plant produces as many as eighteen 
million grains of pollen. The silks receive and retain 
pollen until the grains are fertilized. Originally, em- 
bryonic ears were probably produced at the juncture 



6 THE BOOK OF CORN 

of each leaf with the stalk. Selection and development 
has resulted in only one or two large and well- formed 
ears on each stalk. These ears bear developed kernels 
in from six to twenty-four rows. 

The leaf is succulent and is divided into sheath 
and blade. The sheath surrounds the stalk, then the 
blade extends upward for some distance, and droops at 
the tip. The stalks have a hard shell or covering. The 
plant is semi-tropical, with very dark, green, luxuriant 
foliage. Wild corn must have seeds that can be readily 
disseminated, consequently the grains of the original 
corn were much smaller than those of the corn of 
to-day. Cultivated maize would soon disappear if the 
seeds were not preserved and planted each year. The 
grains of wild corn were large and wholesome enough 
to attract birds and wild beasts, which aided in the dis- 
semination of the plant. In its original southern home 
some authorities believe Indian corn propagated itself 
by suckers grown from near the base. 

The roots are of two classes. Those growing 
underground are fibrous and transmit plant food and 
water to the growing plant. The secondary roots arise 
from joints just above the ground and simply act as 
braces for the plant. These grow downward for some 
distance into the ground. The stem is divided into sec- 
tions technically called internodes. These are fur- 
rowed on one side, the furrows alternating with 
each joint. 

OUTLINE OF SPECIES GROUPS 

While the genus Zca has but one species, there 
a'"e almost innumerable forms and variations. The 
most extended study of these has been made by Dr 
E. L. Sturtcvant, who has examined more than seven 
hundred and seventy varieties and synonyms, witli a 
view of placing the nomenclature upon a sound scien- 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 7 

tific basis. He has divided the polymorphic species 
(Zea Mays) into a number of groups which, on ac- 
count of their well defined and persistent characters, 
may be considered as representing specific agricultural 
claims, and may properly receive specific nomenclature. 
The grouping that he has adopted is founded upon the 
internal structure of the kernel for our cultivated va- 
rieties and the presence of a husk to the kernel in the 
assumed aboriginal form. Arguments in favor of the 
specific claims for these groups are based primarily 
on the convenience thus attained, secondarily on the 
absence or rarity of intermediate or connecting forms, 
so far as our present data extend, and also on the 
antiquity of separation. Each race is characterized by 
numerous varieties, and these freely cross-fertilize. 
The relative dififerences between the races are clearly 
seen by splitting the kernels. These species groups as 
established by Dr Sturtevant are : 

Zea timicata, the pod corns. In this group each 
kernel is inclosed in a pod or husk, and the ear thus 
formed is inclosed in husks. 

Zea everta, the pop corns. This species group is 
characterized by the excessive proportion of the cor- 
neous endosperm and the small size of the kernels and 
ear. The best varieties have a corneous endosperm 
throughout. This gives the property of popping. 

Zea indiirata, the flint corns. A species group 
readily recognized by the occurrence of a starchy endo- 
sperm inclosed in a corneous endosperm at the sides 
of the kernel, the starchy endosperm extending to the 
summit. By the drying and shrinkage of the starchy 
matter the summit of the kernel is drawn in or together 
and indented in various forms. In different varieties 
the corneous endosperm varies in length and thickness, 
thus determining the character of the indented surface. 



8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

Zea amylacea, the soft corns. This species group 
is at once recognized by the absence of corneous endo- 
sperm. Through the uniformity of the shrinkage in 
ripening there is usually no indentation, yet in some 
varieties an indentation may more or less frequently 
appear, but splitting the kernel infallibly determines 
this class. This group includes the Cuzco, the largest 
kemeled variety as yet known. 

Zea saccharata, the sweet corns. A well defined 
species group characterized by the translucent, horny 
appearance of the kernels and their more or less 
crinkled, wrinkled, or shriveled condition. 

Zea aniylea-saccharata, the starchy-sweet corns. 
This species is founded upon the varieties found in the 
San Padro Indian collection of Dr Palmer. The exter- 
nal appearance of the kernel is that of a sweet, but 
examination shows that the lower half of the kernel is 
starchy, the upper half horny and translucent. These 
varieties have all a white cob, the kernels deeper than 
broad. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF DENT CORN 

Zea Mays (Indian corn) is separated into six gen- 
eral groups,* representing different species. These 
groups are as follows : 

I — Zea ttmicata, the pod corns. 

Sub-group A, kernel broader than deep. 
Sub-group B, kernel as deep as broad. 
Sub-group C, kernel deeper than broad. 

II — Zea evert a, the pop corns. 

Sub-groups A, B and C as above. 

Ill — Zea indurata, the flint corns. 
Sub-groups A, B and C as above. 

♦Bulletin No 57, Sturlfvant, United States de])artiiient of agriculture. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 9 

IV — Zea indentafa, the dent corns. 
Sub-groups A, B and C as above. 

V — Zea amylacca, the soft corns. 

Sub-groups A, B and C as above. 

VI — Zea sac char at a. 

Sub-groups A, B and C as above. 

These divisions are the result of growing corn in 
different cHmates and for different purposes. The 
division which is of supreme importance commercially 
is the dent, Zea indentata, and its characteristics will 
be taken up in detail. The dent varieties have been 
developed in the central United States as a result of 
a corn which will give the largest yield of shelled grain 
adapted for general purposes. Naturally a corn of 
such general and wide importance has been the subject 
of great care in development. Unconsciously the corn 
growers of the past have selected a corn which would 
mature in the length of season natural to the climate 
in which it was grown. The character of a corn under 
such a system of selection slowly changed in response 
to the effect of climatic and soil conditions. 

As a matter of fact, the history of the development 
of most of the strains of dent corn now grown is very 
brief. With few exceptions no record has been kept of 
the various crosses, and but few varieties have been 
selected toward a particular type for a special purpose 
for any considerable length of time. There have been 
but few systematic attempts at improvement, and the 
result is that as a rule mongrel or scrub varieties are 
grown. A few varieties, however, have been carefully 
selected in accordance with definite ideas as to improve- 
ment for about a quarter of a century, and have devel- 
oped certain characteristics distinguishing them from 
other varieties. In such instances it has been found 
that if the corn has been selected toward a uniform 
type, the yield has been increased because of the pro- 



10 THE BOOK OF CORN 

duction of uniformly better ears. The yields of varie- 
ties tested at the Illinois experiment station, 1888-1900 
inclusive, show this result. Also, enou.c:h has been 
accomplished to prove that almost any characteristic 
desired in a variety can be fixed by persistent selection, 
and these characteristics can be continually improved 
by further selection. 

The development of su.s^ar in the sug^ar beet fur- 
nishes a splendid illustration of the possibilities of plant 
breeding. Starting with the ordinary beets with about 
four per cent of sugar, the French and German seed 
growers by selection have increased the sugar content 
to an average of twelve to sixteen per cent, making it 
possible to profitably manufacture sugar from this 
source. There are probably as great or greater possi- 
bilities in the corn plant, and these possibilities can be 
developed as easily as the sugar content of the beet. 
The development of the present breeds of cattle and 
other live stock plainly shows how careful, systematic 
and intelligent selection has improved these animals. 
The dairy and beef types have been developed from 
the same source ; the light and draft horses, the bacon 
and lard hogs, etc. 

Corn responds to selection as readily as do beets 
and cattle, and there is no longer any doubt that varie- 
ties of corn can be further improved by similar meth- 
ods. The chemical composition of the corn kernel 
varies, and the experiments conducted by the Illinois 
station have conclusively shown that the proportion of 
the constituents can be varied at the will of the breeder. 
In other words, it is possible to increase or decrease the 
proportion of oil, or of starch, or of protein, by selec- 
tion of the seed. When seed high in protein is planted 
a product high in protein is the result, and vice versa. 
The same thing holds true with seed high in starch 
or oil. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



II 



PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 

What is true of the chemical composition is emi- 
nently true of the physical characteristics of the ears 
or the stalks. For instance, the shape of the Learning 
kernel has been changed by twenty-five years of selec- 
tion, from the original shoe-peg type to a broader and 
deeper kernel with a deeper dent. Along with this 




333 



334 



33S 



Fig 3— Uniform Sample of Boone County White 

No 333, too short for circumference; 334, nearly correct length and circum- 
ference; 335, immature 



variation in the shape of the kernel has gone an in- 
crease in length of ear and a slight increase in circum- 
ference. Again, in the case of the Boone Coimtv 
White variety the tips of the original corn were poorly 



12 THE BOOK OF CORN 

filled. This was due principally to the fact that the 
Boone County White ears are very long;. As an ear 
matures from butt to tip, the tip maturing; last, it fre- 
quently happened that the pollen was all g-one before 
the tips of some of these ears had been fertilized. By 
selecting for seed only those ears which were well 
filled, in other words ears all parts of which matured in 
time for the pollen to fertilize them, the best samples 
of this variety have become well filled at the tips. 

Effect of Selection — The Golden Eagle corn was 
originally a medium to shallow grained corn, but by 
constant selection toward deeper kernels and deeper 
dent, the variety has developed a very deep kernel with 
an unusually deep indentation. The amount of husks, 
length of shank, size of stalk, position of the ear on the 
stalk, the number of leaves, in fact every physical char- 
acteristic can be varied in a short time by simple selec- 
tion. The present meager records give only an incom- 
plete histor\' of the development of the variations of 
corn varieties. It is just as important to know the 
character of every part of the com plant as to know 
every characteristic of the animal. The size, shape and 
characteristics of the stalk strongly influence the devel- 
opment of the ear, and it is probable that it will be 
necessary to know the nature of the root development 
in order to breed intelligently. 

VARIETIES OF DENT CORN 

The varieties of corn described in succeeding 
pages are extensively grown in Illinois, Iowa, ]\Iis- 
souri. Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, Ohio and other com 
growing states. These particular varieties have been 
grown for a long time by specialists who by selection 
of seed developed certain characteristics of ear and 
stalk. They possess certain characteristics of color, 
shape of kernel, shape and size of ear, etc, which have 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 13 

been fixed by the breeder. Some possess character- 
istics that others do not have. From an examination of 
the different varieties, a Hst of the characteristics of 
com, as shape of ear. cob and kernel, nature of inden- 
tation, color of grain and cob, character of tip and butt, 
number of rows of kernels on ear, length and circum- 
ference of ear, etc, has been made a basis of study of 
varieties. This list is given here that it may assist 
breeders to study their varieties of com in a systematic 
manner. The corn grower can take an average sample 
of corn, and by going through the list of characteris- 
tics mark the ones possessed by his own variety. He 
can then take up the study of the characteristics in 
detail. Following is the list of characteristics : 

Ear — 

Cylindrical — Uniform in circumference from butt to tip. 

Partly Cylindrical — Uniform in circumference for a por- 
tion of length. 

Slowly Tapering — Taper slight, regular. 

Distinctly Tapering — Taper very apparent. 

Very Tapering — Extremely tapering. 

Too Short for Circumference ; Too Long for Circum- 
ference — Proper proportion of circumference to length is as 
three to four, or for medium varieties seven and one-half 
inches to ten inches. 

Rows in Distinct Pairs — Alternate spaces between rows 
of kernels wider than the others. 

Number of Rows — Counted three inches from butt. 

Rows Lost — Disappearing after extending three inches or 
more from butt. 

Narrow Space Between Rows — Rows pressed closely to- 
gether. 

Medium Space Between Rows — Distinct furrows. 

Wide Space Between Rows — Wide furrows. 

Circumference of Ear at Butt; Circumference of Ear at 
Tip — Measured two inches from the ends. 

Length of Ear — Measured from butt to tip. 

Rows Straight — Parallel with cob. 

Rows Turned to Right ; Rows Turned to Left — Rows 
angle to right or left of a straight line from butt to tip. 

Butt- 
Even — Entire end of cob exposed, with butt kernels at 
right angles to axis of cob. 



14 THE BOOK OF CORN 

Shallow Rounded— Cavity at butt shallow, broad. 

Moderately Rounded — Cavity moderately deep, medium 
diameter. 

Deeply Rounded — Cavity at butt deep, small diameter. 

Compressed — Cob rounded at end. 

Enlarged — Large butt with no extra rows of kernels. 

Expanded — Large butt caused by extra rows of kernels. 

Open — Greater space between rows at butt. 

Depressed — Kernels at butt flat, smooth and short, indi- 
cating a tight husk. 

Kernels Diverging — Space between summits of kernels in 
same row. 

Tip— 

Kernels in rows; rows may be traced to tip. 
Flat— Cob flattened at tip. 

Filled — Entire end of cob covered with kernels. 
Capped — A central kernel projecting from filled tip. 

Kernel — 

Firm — Rigid on cob. 

Loose — Movable on cob. 

Roof- Shaped at One Edge — Convex at one edge and flat 
at the other. 

Upright — .At right angles with surface of cob. 

Sloping — Leaning toward tip. 

Overlapping at Summit — As shingles on a roof. 

Straight Wedge-Shaped — Edges of kernels straight, 
tapering. 

Rounded Wedge-Shaped — Edges rounded lengthwise, 
tapering. 

Square at Top — Corners not rounded at summit. 

Shoe-Peg Form — Long, narrow kernel holding size to tip. 

Roimded Corners — Corners rounded at summit and base. 

Rectangular — Short and broad, as broad at base as 
summit. 

Beaked — With long, sharp tapering projection. 

Slightly Rounded at Edges — Rounded lengthwise of 
kernel. 

Small, Sharp Point at Summit — Pointed projection from 
chit side of kernel. 

Round Smooth Dented — Round, smooth depression at 
summit of kernel. 

Long Smooth Dented — Long, smooth depression. 

Crease Dented — Edges of kernels pressed toward each 
other, leaving small space between, and edges parallel. 

Pinched Dented — Edges of kernels pinched closely to- 
gether. 

Rough Projection Dented — With any rough, ragged or 
beaked projection from summit of kernel. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES I5 

Bridge Dented — Crease dented with fold across center. 

Crumple Dented — Seed coat wrinkled, as in sweet corn. 

Breadth, Depth, Thickness — Exact measure. 

Color — Note shade. 
Shank — 

Large — Nearly the diameter of cob. 

Medium — Half the diameter of cob. 

Small — One-third the diameter of cob or less. 
Cob— 

Large — Larger than four and one-half inches in 
circumference. 

Medium — From three and one-half to four and one-half 
inches in circumference. 

Small — Not more than three and one-half inches in 
circumference. 

Color — Note shade. 

reid's yellow dent 

History — The following- is the history of Reid's 
Yellow Dent as given by the originator and breeder, Mr 
James L. Reid of Tazewell coimty, Illinois : In 1846 
Robert Reid brought from Brown county, Ohio, to 
Illinois a variety of corn called at that time the Gordon 
Hopkins corn. This was reddish colored, grown 
widely in the vicinity of the Red Oak settlement, the 
home of Mr Robert Reid. The corn was planted in 
Tazewell county, Illinois, by Robert Reid late in the 
spring of 1846, and a fair yield of iminature corn was 
harvested. Seed was selected from this crop for the 
next year's planting, but on account of the immaturity 
of the seed a poor stand was the result. The field was 
replanted with seed of the Little Yellow com, the miss- 
ing hills being planted with a hoe. The corn has not 
been purposely mixed by Mr Reid since 1847, ^-i^d has 
been improved by selection since that date. 

It is adapted to central and northern sections of 
Illinois and similar latitudes. This variety is of me- 
dium early maturity, inaturing in from one htmdred to 
one hundred and ten days. The characteristics are very 
constant in all samples, due to the fact that they have 



i6 



TIIF, r.OOK OF CORN 



been strongly impressed by fifty years' selection. The 
photographs of the samples of Reid's Yellow Dent, one 
from the originator, Mr J. L. Reid, the other from Mr 
A. C. Rhoades, illustrate the uniformity of the cliar- 
acteristics running through the Reid variety. Mr 
Rhoades secured seed from Mr Reid about five years 
ago, and has grown this variety without intentional 
crossing since that time. In the samples of Mr 
Rhoades's corn sent to the Illinois experiment station 




Fig 4— Reid's Yellow Dent 

Butts, tips, size of cob, diptli of kernel, ami shape of cars 



for examination, the indentation and shape of kernel, 
shape of ear, filling out at tips and butts, length and 
circumference, size and shape of cob, are uniformly 
and strongly Reid characteristics. This condition 
shows very decidedly that the characteristics that have 
been impressed on this variety of corn are strongly 
fixed and are uniformly reproduced. It offers one of 
the best illustrations of the effect of intelligent selec- 
tion, the original corn with small ears, poorly filled 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 1 7 

out, and small number of rows, being changed by selec- 
tion to one of the most improved varieties of corn 
grown. 

Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering; 2, cir- 
cumference 6.9 inches, length 9.5 inches ; 3, kernels 
very firm on cob and upright; 4, number of rows 18 
to 24 ; 5, space between rows very narrow ; 6, kernels 
in distinct pairs of rows ; 7, butt deeply rounded, very 
compressed, with diverging kernels ; 8, kernels light 
yellow, square at top, tapering to a point by straight 
lines with long smooth to pinched indentation ; 9, shank 
small ; 10, cob medium, red. 

GOLDEN EAGLE 

History — The Golden Eagle variety was origi- 
nated by Mr H. B. Perry of Stark county, Illinois, in 
1 87 1. Mr Perry selected seed from the so-called Mason 
County Yellow corn. This corn had rather small ears, 
red cobs and small kernels of a bright yellow color. 
The selection since that time has been toward a large 
proportion of corn to cob. This variety has been bred 
by Mr Perry on his farm without mixture since 1871 
and has developed certain prominent characteristics, 
particularly deep grain and well-filled ends. The 
Golden Eagle is of medium maturity, usually maturing 
in from one hundred to one hundred and fifteen days; 
adapted to the central and south half of the northern 
division of Illinois. The characteristics are very uni- 
form in samples grown under different conditions, a 
result of twenty-nine years of continuous breeding 
without crossing. The variety at present shows a 
great improvement over the original type and is one of 
the best examples of the results of selection. 

Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering; 2, cir- 
cumference 7 inches, length 8.9 inches ; 3, kernels loose 



l8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

on cob and uprip^ht ; 4, number of rows 16 to 20; 5» 
space between rows medium to wide ; 6, kernels deep ; 
7, butt moderately rounded, compressed; 8. kernels 
deep yellow, very marked, roue^h projection at summit, 
strai.e;-ht edges and rough projection dented; 9, shank 
small ; 10, cob small, red. 

IOWA SILVER MINE 

History — The Towa Silver Mine variety of com 
v^'as originated by Mr J. H. Beagley of Ford county, 
Illinois, from seed selected from a prize-winning ex- 
hibit of white corn at Ford county farmers" institute 
in 1890. After sufficient corn had been grown to plant 
a twenty-acre field, the crop was sold to the Towa seed 
company, which named it Iowa Silver Mine, and sold 
large quantities of seed to Illinois farmers. The orig- 
inator has selected toward a creamy white color, cylin- 
drical shape, tapering slightly at tip, with an average 
of about eighteen rows of kernels. This variety has 
been developed by selection, no crossing or mixing of 
varieties having occurred. The variety characteristics 
are strong, especially in those strains grown in the 
northern division of the state. The variety is from 
medium to early maturing, maturing in one hundred 
to one hundred and ten days, adapted to the north 
half of the central and the northern section of the 
state. 

Characteristics — i, ears partly cylindrical and 
partly slowly tapering; 2. circumference 7.2 inches, 
length 8.7 inches ; 3. kernels firm on cob and upright ; 
4, number of rows 16 to 20; 5, space between rows 
medium; 6. kernels in distinct pairs of rows, develop- 
ing distinct rows at tips ; 7, butt moderately rounded, 
compressed ; 8. kernels cream white, deep, even at 
summit, except for rough jirojection. str:\ight edges, 
tapering; 9, shank medium; 10, cob, small, white. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



19 



RILEY S FAVORITE 

History — The Riley's Favorite was originated by 
Mr James Riley of Boone county, Indiana, in 1885. It 
is a hybrid, the result of a cross of a large late corn, 
the Golden Yellow, with a small early corn, the Pride 
of the Nortli. It has been bred in the following man- 
ner : A plot of one-half acre was selected away from 




i'^i ,^"5 30(3 

Fig S— Length of Ear, Boone County White 

No 304, proper length and size; 305, too loiig; 306, too short 

any other variety of corn and planted in the usual way. 
As soon as the tassels began to ajipear, the barren and 
diseased stalks were all removed, leaving only healthy 
stalks. In this way future seed could not be fertilized 
from pollen from barren or dwarfed stalks. Mr Riley 
selected toward a medium-sized ear, small cob, well- 



20 THE BOOK OF CORN 

filled tips and butts, and stalks of medium hi.c^ht. It is 
a medium to early maiuring- variety, ripcnintj in ninety 
to one hundred and ten days.* 

The Riley's Favorite variety is of early maturity, 
adapted to the central and northern divisions of Illi- 
nois. This variety stronp^ly illustrates the fact that im- 
provement takes place in corn breedin.cc at present 
through selection without crossing of widely dififerent 
varieties. Our varieties are sufficiently variable with- 
out introducing unknown characteristics, and selection 
will tend to develop these variations along the lines 
desired by the corn breeder. 

Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering; 2, cir- 
cumference 7.1 inches, length 9 inches; 3, kernels loose 
on cob and upright; 4. number of rows 16 to 20; 5, 
space between rows wide ; 6, kernels in distinct pairs 
of rows, about half of the ears having distinct rows at 
tips ; 7, butt moderately rounded, compressed ; 8. ker- 
nels yellow, straight wedge-shape, pinched to rough 
projection dented, with a tendency in the rough sum- 
mits to be beaked ; 9, shank medium to small ; 10, cob 
small, red. 

WHITE SUPERK^R 

History — The history of the White Superior- vari- 
ety as nearly as can be learned from the account of ATr 

*As a matter of fact, neither Mr Riley nor other growers of Riley's 
Favorite have been able to fix the above characteristics of this variety. 
One season would develop a certain set of characteristics, while a dif- 
ferent season would brinj; out different characteristics. This condition 
is a result of the cross made in the bepinninK of selection, in this way 
minfrlinK toRcther widely differing characteristics. In order to fix any 
characteristic, it takes years nf selection for this point, and the Riley's 
Favorite has not been selected lonp enoufrh to (jive the variety any fixed 
type. In the illustration of the samples of Riley's I'"avorite, one from 
Mr James Riley and the other from Mr T. A. Baldwin, little uniform- 
ity of characteristics of ear can be found. In a carefid examination of 
these samples, it was clearly demonstrated that little similarity of char 
acteristics existed between the two samnles, althoutrh Mr Baldwin secured 
the seed of this variety directly from Mr James Riley only a few years 
ago. In a shipment from Mr Riley of about twenty-five bushels oi 
Riley's I'avorite seed in the ear, a large number of ears resembling the 
Pride of the North v.nriety and aliout an ei|ual number of ears similar 
to the Yellow Mastodon variety were found. .\ small proportion of 
ears of the Riley's I'avorite type could be picked out by careful 
selection. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



21 



P. R. Sperry of Warren county. Illinois, a breeder of 
this corn, is as follows : Mr Shaffer, a seed corn 
specialist, brought from Pennsylvania to Warren 
county, Illinois, a variety of corn he called the White 
Elephant, about 1880. In 1895 ^^ Sperry began se- 




319 



320 



321 



Fig 6— Circumference of Ear, Boone County White 

No 319, well-proportioned, proper circumference; 320, too large for length; 
321, too small for length 

lecting seed from this variety for a different type than 
the White Elephant. He selected one bushel of seed 
of the type desired and planted this seed by itself, so 
that it would not be mixed with anv other variety. In 



22 THE BOOK OF CORN 

changing the type of corn iNIr Sperry changed the 
name to the White Superior. It is a medium to late 
maturing variety, ripening in one hundred and five to 
one hundred and twenty days. 

His selection was as follows: Kernels one-half 
inch in length and one-fourth inch in width ; ears 
eleven inches long, seven and one-half inches in cir- 
cumference, with little space between rows. The 
White Superior is of medium maturity, and is adapted 
to the central and north central sections of the state. 

Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering; 2, cir- 
cumference 7 inches, length 8.4 inches ; 3, kernels firm 
on cob and upright; 4, number of rows 18 to 20; 5, 
space between rows medium ; 6, kernels in distinct 
rows ; 7, butt shallow, rounded, depressed, slightlv 
compressed ; 8, kernels white, tapering, with slightly 
curved edges and rough projection dented; 9, shank 
medium to large ; 10, cob medium, white. 

LE.'\MING 

History — The Learning variety was originated by 
Mr J. S. Leaming of Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1826. 
Mr Leaming began selecting seed at this time from 
the ordinary yellow corn grown on the Little Miami 
bottoms, Hamilton county, Ohio. He selected this 
seed toward a standard type in his mind for fifty-six 
years, to be followed by his son, J. S. Leaming. Jr. 
His method of selection was to go through a field as 
soon as the earliest husks began to show signs of ripen- 
ing, selecting ears from stalks tapering from butt to 
tassel, ears well filled over points, straight rows of 
kernels, and ripening in from ninety to one hun- 
dred and ten days. 

The Leaming strain as grown bv Mr K. K. Ches- 
ter of Illinois is from seed secured from Mr J. S. 
Leaming in 1885. Mr Chester has selected com for 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



23 



seed from those ears showing- the first ripening of the 
husk so as to secure corn maturing in from one hun- 
dred to one hundred and twenty days. No crossing 
has been allowed, the corn being planted in large 
isolated fields. Mr James Riley of Indiana secured 
seed of the Leaming variety from Mr Chester. Mr 
Riley selected for a thick, strong stalk, ears close to 
the ground, medium cob, deep grain and bright yellow 




Fig 7— Learning 

Butts, tips, size of cob, depth of kernel and shape of ears 

kernels. Mr J. H. Coolidge of Illinois secured Leam- 
ing seed from Mr Chester. Mr Coolidge has selected 
for a deep grain, long ear, well filled tip and butt, uni- 
form rows of kernels and early maturity. 

The Leaming variety has the most uniform char- 
acteristics of any variety of yellow corn grown. Its 
adaptation to widely different conditions of soil and 



24 THE BOOK OF CORN 

climate by selection has done much to stren^hen these 
characteristics. It is no doubt the type from which 
many varieties of yellow corn have been developed, as 
most of the yellow varieties show some of the charac- 
teristics of the Leaming^ corn ; and when their history is 
traced back they are usually found to have been devel- 
oped from the Leamine;- seed. The Learning- variety is 
of medium maturity, adapted to the central division of 
Illinois. The three-quarters of a century of breeding- 
has fixed tiic following characteristics, and they can be 
found strongly developed in strains bred by different 
corn breeders, modified by the breeder in his selection 
of seed. See Fig 7. 

Characteristics — i. ear tapering; 2. circumference 
7 inches, length 9.3 inches ; 3, kernels firm on cob and 
mostly upright; 4. number of rows i6 to 24. with a 
tendency to drop rows about the middle of ear ; 5, space 
between rows medium; 6, kernels in distinct pairs of 
rows, mixed at tip ; 7, butt moderately rounded, 
slightly compressed, with tendency to expand; 8. ker- 
nels yellow, wedge-shape, with square-cut summits and 
nearly straight edges, long- dimpled to pinched dented ; 
9, shank medium to large ; 10, cob medium, red. 

P.OONE COUNTY WHITE 

History — The Boone County \Miite corn was orig- 
inated by Mr James Riley of Roone county, In(V.ana. 
Mr Riley began selection from a large, coarse variety of 
corn grown in Boone county, commonly known as the 
White Mastodon, in 1876. This White Mastodon seed 
secured by Mr Riley was planted in a separate field 
from other varieties, and has never been crossed, 
being changed in typo by selection. Mr Riley at- 
tempted to remove the barren stalks by cutting out 
such stalks before they produced pc^llcn. After several 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 



25 



years of selection he gave his new type of corn a new 
name, Boone County White. 

Seed of the Boone County White was early se- 
cured by Mr O. C. Block of Champaign county. Illi- 
nois, and by careful selection for about ten years the 
characteristics of shape of ear, kernel and cob, and the 
indentation of the kernel have been changed. The pro- 
portion of circumference to length has been increased 
by Mr Block. The indentation of kernel in the Block 




Fig 8— Boone County White 

Butts, tips, size ofcnli, depth of kernel and shape of ears 

type is deeper than the Riley type, but the shape of 
kernel has not been greatly changed. No doubt that by 
continued selection along the lines already laid down 
by Mr Block and other growers of the Boone County 
White, a distinct type can be produced. 

The Boone County White is of medium to late 
maturity, ripening in one hundred and ten to one hun- 



26 THE BOOK OF CORN 

dred and twenty days, adapted to central and southern 
sections of Illinois. It has been bred for lare^e ears, 
and consequently matures slowly. There is a tendenc) 
to the production of a poorly filled tip on account of the 
leng-th of ear, which must be overcome by careful 
selection. 

Characteristics — i, ear slowly tapering-; 2, cir- 
cumference 7.5 inches, length 9.3 inches ; 3, kernels 
firm on cob and upright; 4. number of rows 16 to 22; 
5, s]:)ace between rows medium to wide; 6, kernels in 
distinct pairs of rows, developing distinct rows at tip ; 
7, butt moderately rounded, slightly compressed, en- 
larged or expanded ; 8, kernels white, broad, even at 
summit, with slightly curved edges and creased to 
rough projection indentation; 9, shank medium; 10, 
cob medium to large, white. See Fig 8. 

These varieties of dent corn above described will 
be added to in the future in a systematic way. Already 
organizations have been formed in Illinois and Iowa 
for the purpose of assisting corn breeders in the devel- 
opment of varieties. These seed corn breeders' associa- 
tions have established corn re9isters for the purpose 
of recording authoritative pedigrees of varieties of 
corn. 

VARIETIES OF FLINT CORN 

The second division of corn, the flint corns, are a 
product of eastern and northern I'^nited States. Here 
the cold climate induces a heavy protecting seed coat 
to be formed over the outside of the kernel early in the 
season. This does not allow of the development of a 
deep kernel. Usuallv the kernels arc broad and shal- 
low, the ears havin<T not more than eight to fourteen 
rows of kernels. The kernels are composed of an 
unusually large proportion of starch, and this kind of 
com is used in large quantities for starch manufactnr- 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 27 

ing purposes and for hominy. Owing- to the shallow 
kernels this corn matures in a short time, usually from 
eighty to ninety-five days. The proportion of leaves 
is comparatively small, and the plants are not so large 
or high as the plants of the dent corn. This is partly 
due to the fact that the dent corns are usually grown in 
soils very rich in nitrogen, which induces a heavy de- 
velopment of stalks and foliage. The flint corns grown 



Fig 9— Shape of Ears, Boone County White 

No 301, cylindric-il, proper shape; 302, partly cylindrical; 303, very tapering 

in the clay soils do not have such a large amount of 
nitrogen to draw upon and the plants are consequently 
not developed to such a great extent as the dent types. 

VARIETIES IN NEW ENGLAND AND NEW YORK 

While very little direct effort has been made to 
produce distinct varieties of corn in New England, 



28 THE BOOK OF CORN 

there are many kinds witli such {Hstinp^uishin.cr charac- 
teristics as to entitle them to a place among^ the 
varieties. A few comparatively new varieties, such as 
Long-fellow and Angel of Midnii^^ht, have been intro- 
duced and have trained some general standing, but the 
most popular kinds have only a local reputation and 
are rarely known outside of a few townships. 

In many cases in New England, New York, and 
perhaps Pennsylvania, well-fixed types have been 
established by growing one kind of corn for a long 
period of years on the same farm without any change 
of seed. These varieties are frequently designated by 
the name of the family by whom they have been grown, 
as "Doolittle" corn and "W'arren" field corn. Not 
infrequently some particular kind of corn has been 
grown on the same farm for several generations of a 
family, without new see 1 being introduced. At leist 
two instances are known in Connecticut where one kind 
of corn has been grown on a certain farm by the same 
family for over one hundred years. By growing any 
plant for a long period of years under uniform condi- 
tions of soil and culture, and by the exercise of con- 
siderable care in selecting the sec(\, well-fixed types will 
be developed. 

The season is so short in New England that 
mostly flint varieties are grown. In preparing statis- 
tics for a large number of Connecticut varieties of corn 
for the world's fair of 1893. it was found that the 
growing season of flint varieties ranged from ninety- 
six to one hundred and twenty-five days, while for a 
smaller number of dent varieties it ranged from one 
hundred and fifteen to one hundred and sixty-seven 
days, the greater number requiring a season of over one 
hundred and thirty days. The average growing season 
in Connecticut without damaging frosts is about one 
hundred and fortv-five davs. vet there have been 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 29 

several seasons within the past fitteen years when the 
growinf^ period covered only one hundred and thirty to 
one hundred and thirty-live days. From these facts it 
will be seen that only a comparatively few varieties of 
dent com are adapted to New England conditions. 

Eastern Corn Varies Greatly in Composition — 
Analyses of a large number of varieties grown in the 




Fig 10— Kernel Indentation, Boone County White 

No 324, smooth grains; 325, medium rough; 326, rough grains 

east show a wide variation in the composition of corn. 
For example, out of ninety varieties analyzed by the 
Connecticut experiment station, the highest percentage 
of protein in_ the dry substance of the grain of anv 
variety was 14.53 P^*" cent, while the variety showing 
the lowest proportion contained 8 33 per cent. It has 
been found, too, that the percentage of protein varies 



30 THE ROOK OF CORN 

somewhat with the season, being lower m a wet season 
than in a dry due probably to the removal of nitrogen 
from the soii by the leaching action of heavy rains. 
There is probably no doubt that those varieties 
high in protein can be maintained high in protein 
by thorough culture and the proper selection of seed. 
By planting seed from varieties high in protein the 
protein content of the resulting crop will be cor- 
respondingly high. Fertilizers' rich in protein will also 
do much to maintain and even to increase the protein 
content of corn. In experiments made by the Storrs 
(Connecticut) experiment station, the average per- 
centage of protein in the grain grown on olots where 
liberal amounts of nitrogen were used as fcitilizer was 
about one per cent above that in the grain grown where 
only mineral fertilizers were used. In the stover a 
relatively greater increase was obtained where the 
nitrogen was used, than in the seed. 

DENT VARIETIES IN THE EAST 

Only a comparatively few varieties of d&nt corn 
are grown over any considerable range of territory. 
Probably the best known variety is the Learning, 
earlier described in this chapter. The season is found 
to be long enough in New England for this variety, 
as it will mature in about one hundred and twenty days. 
It is quite generally grown in southern New England 
both for the grain and for silage. 

The Early Mastodon is a large-eared variety of 
white dent com requiring a little longer season than 
the Learning. The ears are about nine inches in lon^h 
and two and five-tenths inches in diameter at the bu't; 
kernels orange yellow with light yellow cap and rather 
loose on the cob ; fourteen to eighteen rows ; season one 
hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and thirty 
days. The growth of stalks is somewhat heavier than 



UOIANY AND VARIETIES 3 1 

for the Learning. This variety is one of the best for 
silage in southern New England. 

The Pride of the North is a dent variety that has 
been introduced from the west and has been grown 
over quite a territory in New York and southern New 
England. This variety has smaller stalks and ears than 
the Learning. The ears are yellow ; kernels rather 
loose ; length of ears six to eight inches ; diameter at 




3'6 317 31S 

Fig 11— Large, Medium and Small Cob, Boone County White 

the butt one and eight-tenths inches ; season one hun- 
dred and twenty to one hundred and thirty days. 

Benton corn is a long-eared, eight-rowed dent 
variety which has been so modified that it is now nearly 
of the flint type. As far as can be learned this variety 
was taken from Pennsylvania to Guilford, Connecticut, 
by a member of the Hubbard family, while a soldier of 
the American revolution. It is claimed that the corn 



32 THE BOOK OF CO^N 

has been grown on the same farm by this family cvei 
since it was first taken to Connecticut. The color is 
either cream yellow, or, in some instances, copper red. 
The kernels are of the flint type, except that they are 
slightly indented, although toward the tip many ker- 
nels are found free from dents. It produces the longest 
ears of any variety — fourteen to eighteen inches being 
common. The stalks are larger than most of the flint 
kinds, being eight to nine feet tall ; the season is from 
one hundred and forty to one hundred and forty-five 
days. This variety is not generally grown outside the 
coast towns of Connecticut. The length of season is 
too long to make it a safe variety for seed north of 
this small area. 

The following dent varieties may be mentioned 
among those grown in a limited way in New England 
and New York, but they are not widely enough known 
to warrant a description : Blount's Prolific, Butler's 
Dent, Farmer's Pride, Golden Dent, Hickory King, 
Horsetooth. Long Island Dent, Minnesota King, New 
England Dent, Sciota, Salzer's Ensilage, and Tyler. 

FLINT VARIETIES IN NEW ENGLAND 

The flint varieties are best adapted to New Eng- 
land on account of the short seasons and the smaller 
growth of stalks produced. Many of the older culti- 
vated fields are so reduced in fertility that they will not 
carry to a normal development the larger growing dent 
varieties, and at the same time produce a good crop of 
grain. By heavy manuring any of the dent varieties 
which will mature in from one hundred and fifteen to 
one hundred and twenty-five days can readily be grown 
in southern New England, but for the states north of 
Connecticut and Rhode Island the flint varieties will 
generally produce a larger proportion of grain to stalks 
and are surer of reaching maturity. 



BOTANY AND VARIETIES 33 

From the earliest settlement of New England 
there has existed a yellow, eight- rowed, hard, flinty- 
kerneled corn with ears varying in length, according 
to the latitude, from seven to twelve inches. At the 
north this corn became known as the Early Canada. 
As a result of partial failures in the crop of one locality 




32a 323 

Fig 12— Maturity, Boone County Wliite 

No 322, fully mature, sound ear; 323, immature, chaffy ear 

for a particular year, it became a common practice to 
send north and get corn from some point where the 
conditions favored a full crop, and to use this to im- 



34 THE BOOK OF COKN 

prove the local kind. The two kinds were seldom 
planted far enough apart to prevent cross-fertilization, 
and the result was a new type in the course of a few 
years. The tendency, in bringing a certain variety 
south, has been to shorten the season of growth, and 
then to gradually increase the size and length of the 
ears as the corn became acclimated. By slightly short- 
ening the season of growth even partial failures became 
rare, and the same kind was thus maintained on one 
farm for a long period of years. These flint sorts were 
commonly known as Improved Canada Eight-Rowed, 
but after a time many took the name of the owner of 
the farm where they had been grown ; as the "Asher 
Wright" corn, the "Brainard" corn or the "Warren" 
corn. 

A good example of this type of corn is represented 
by the "Doolittle" Improved Canada. The kernels are 
large and firm on the cob ; length of ear nine and five- 
tenths inches, diameter at the butt one and seven-tenths 
inches ; ear tapering but slightly ; hight of stalk seven 
to seven and five-tenths feet ; season one hundred and 
ten to one hundred and twenty days. This general 
description will fairly cover the characteristics of sev- 
eral other varieties of Improved Canada flints of 
local repute, which have developed well-fixed types, 
by growing for a long period under uniform con- 
ditions. About the only differences found in many 
of these varieties are in the length and uniformity of 
the ears. The longer a variety has existed on one farm 
and the greater the care used in selecting the seed, the 
more uniform will be the ears. The white flint corn 
is essentially the same as the Improved Canada, except 
that the kernels are a pale cream-white, and are often 
more flinty than the yellow flints. The white flints are 
grown on some farms because they are preferred for 
making hominy. In the typical Improved Canada 



BOTANV AND VARIETIES 



35 



white flint tlie ears are firm and the kernels large; 
length of ear nine inches ; diameter at the butt one and 
five-tenths inches ; ears slightly tapering and well 
capped over at the tips. 

The Rhode Island White Cap is one of the best 
known varieties of corn in eastern Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. The stalks are small, rarely over six 
feet tall and commonlv less. The ears are small, ker- 




Fig 13 — Space Between Rows 

No 307, narrow; 308, medium space; 309, wide space 

nels very flinty and firm on the cob. The ears are five 
to seven and one-half inches in length and nearly 
always solidly capped over the tips. The diameter is 
about one and one-quarter inches at the butt and tapers 
but very slightly. The length of the season is one hun- 
dred to one hundred and ten days. 



36 THE BOOK OF CORN 

OTHER GENERAL VARIETIES OF CORN 

Soft Corn — The soft corns are grown for the most 
part in the southern portions of the United States. The 
long season does not compel early maturity and the 
development of the hard covering which is the case 
with northern grown com. This corn is not valuable 
for storing and is more subject to insect and other 
attacks. The freezing in northern latitudes rapidly 
destroys the life of the germ and the vitality is easily 
impaired. 

Szveet Corn — Sweet corns w^cre developed on 
account of their great amount of saccharine. Having 
a sweet taste they are peculiarly desirable for table use 
and are grown largely by market gardeners, canning 
concerns, and occasionally they are grown for forage. 

Pop Corn is a peculiar type grown extensively in 
America on account of its composition. By heating 
the kernels, they pop open in a large fluffy mass. These 
varieties are described in detail elsewhere in this 
volume. 



CHAPTER III 

Priuripba of (Enm (grnhitli nnh iFprbing 

^■T HE conditions of plant growth are: i, plant 
/ 1 1 food ; 2, heat ; 3, light ; 4, vitality. All of 
V^ these must be supplied. Plant food is derived 
from two sources, the atmosphere and the 
soil. From ninety-five to ninety-nine per cent of 
the dry matter in the plant is obtained from the 
atmosphere through the leaves, while only one to five 
per cent comes from the soil. However, it is sim- 
ply the plant food in the soil that need be considered. 
The supply is limited and if removed by continuous 
cropping, it must be replaced by adding plant food 
to the soil. On the other hand, the supply of plant 
food in the air is inexhaustible. But in order to utilize 
this great source of plant development, it is necessary 
to secure a proper proportion of the elements of the 
soil which are combined with the atmosphere elements 
in the composition of the plant. 

Briefly the elements of plant food are : From the 
air, comprising one to five per cent of the weight of dry 
matter of the plant — carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitro- 
gen. From the soil, comprising ninety-five to ninety- 
nine per cent of the dry matter — iron, sulphur, silica, 
manganese, magnesia, sodium, potash, phosphorus, 
chlorine. . 

Forms of Atmospheric Food — Carbon is found in 
a solid state in the earth in the form of coal and dia- 
monds. In the atmosphere, it exists in combination 
with oxygen as carbon dioxide gas. This gas is taken 
into the leaves of the plant through the leaf pores or 
stomates, the carbon is separated from- the oxygen and 



38 THE BOOK OF CORN 

becomes a part of the plant structure. As carbon diox- 
ide g^as is continually ,^iven off to the atmosphere by the 
decomposition of plants, by all forms of combustion 
and from many other sources, the supply of carbon 
is unlimited. 

Hydrogen composes a large proportion of the 
atmosphere. Its function seems to be that of diluting 
the oxygen. This gaseous element is taken into the 
plant through the leaf pores and enters largely into the 
composition of the carbon com])ounds. As a very large 
proportion of the air is composed of hydrogen its 
supply does not concern the farmer. 

Oxygen also exists in the atmosphere as a gas 
and its supply is inexhaustible. It enters into the com- 
position of the carbon compounds and is taken into 
the plants through the leaves. 

Food Supplied Through Root System — All other 
elements of i)lant food are supplied to the plant 
through the root system from the soil. With one ex- 
ception they are all supplied to the plant directly from 
the soil, which acts as a storehouse of plant food. The 
exception to this rule is nitrogen, which is in part 
taken from the atmosphere, where it exists as a gas, 
through the agency of leguminous plants. Tubercles 
are formed on the roots of the leguminous plants 
through the action of certain organisms. In the build- 
ing of these tubercles, the organisms take the nitrogen 
directly from the air and work it into the composition 
of the plants. When the tubercles decay, the nitrogen 
is left in the soil, where it can be used by succeeding 
crops. In this way, by the growth of leguminous 
crops, the store of nitrogen in the soil is increased. 
For this reason it has become the general practice 
among corn farmers to so rotate their crops that a 
leguminous crop, as clover, cowpcas or soy beans, is 



CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 39 

grown frequently enough to insure a sufficient supply 
of nitrogen for the development of the corn crop. 

The corn plant needs an abundance of the three 
important ingredients of all fertilizers — ^nitrogen, phos- 
phorus and potash. The nitrogen develops a large 
growth of stalks, the phosphorus and potash are espe- 
cially necessary in the growth of the seed. If any one 
of these three elements is lacking, the result is a 
dwarfed plant and small yi-eld. The most important 
element, because it is most easily lost and is most ex- 
pensive to buy in the form of commercial fertilizers, is 
nitrogen. Most of the prairie soils have an abundant 
supply of nitrogen. However, by continued cropping 
the store of available nitrogen is used up and the effect 
is easily seen in the growth of the plants on such 
exhausted soils. 

For instance, at the Illinois experiment station 
one-half acre has grown twenty-four successive crops 
of corn without the aid of commercial fertilizers or 
any kind of manure or special soil treatment. The 
result has been a gradual decrease in yield. By com- 
paring the growth of the plants on this half acre with 
plants grown on rotated and manured fields, a very 
great difference can be seen at any time during the 
life of the plant. In the first place the young plants 
are not thrifty. They do not start off vigorously. 
Corn planted at the same time on well-fertilized plats 
comes up two weeks earlier. The plants do not have 
the dark green, healthy color of plants grown in soils 
rich in nitrogen, and the leaves are a plain green 
streaked with yellow. The stalks never eq"al in size 
those of the same variety grown on rich soils. They 
are weak, spindling, and have a dwarfed appearance 
as though the climate had been unfavorable to their 
development. During dry seasons the leaves curl and 
the plant seems to suffer excessively from the lack of 



40 THE BOOK OF CORN 

an abundance of water, l-'urthcr, the plants seem to 
be more easily affected by insect and fungous pests and 
quickly succumb to any unfavorable circumstance. 

When potash or i)hosphorus is lacking mi the soil, 
the ears do not fully develop or mature. In soils 
which have a large amount of nitrogen and too little 
potash or phosphorus, the stalks become abnormally 
large while the ears are small and usually poorly filled. 
By correcting the proportions of nitrogen, potash and 
phosphorus, through manuring and other treatment of 
the soil, an otherwise unproductive section may be 
made to yield maximum crops of corn. 

METHODS OF OBTAIXIXr, NITROGEN 

The cheapest and best method of obtaining nitro- 
gen is by means of leguminous crops. Of such ])lants 
common fed clover, cowpeas, soy beans and alfalfa are 
most generally used in all sections of the United 
States. These crops add large supplies of nitrogen to 
the soil and provide great yields per acre of valuable 
food for animals. They not only are a source of the 
supply of plant food for the soil, but have a valuable 
mechanical effect on the soil. Their extensive and 
deep root systems bring ])lant food from the subsoil 
to the surface soil, where it may be used by future 
crops. They loosen and break up the hard subsoil so 
that the roots of the corn plants can penetrate this 
portion of the soil and secure plant food. The roots 
of the leguminous crops remaining in the soil decay 
and add to the humus. 

Clover has been grown in this country as a part 
of the crop rotation for many years, but not imtil the 
last fifteen years has it come into general use as a soil 
fertilizer. There are several varieties, adapted to dif- 
ferent conditions of soil and climate, and for various 
uses. Of these varieties the mammoth red, the medium 



CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 



41 



red and the white clovers are most generally grown. 
The medium red clover is the variety which is usually 
used as a fertilizer for corn land. 

The methods of seeding clover vary with the sec- 
tion of the country in which the clover is grown. 
There are three general methods of seeding for ferti- 
lizing purposes: i, with nurse crop; 2, alone, and 3, in 
corn after the last cultivation. Of these methods, the 
seeding with some nurse crop is in most general use. 




Fig 14— Samples of Clover 

Taken from equal areas; different methods o{ seeding 

The kind of nurse crop varies with the agriculture of 
the country. In the great corn belt of Illinois, Iowa, 
Kansas and Nebraska, seeding clover with oats is the 
most common and universal practice. 

In this case the land is prepared for oats, usually 
by disking crosswise of the corn rows, if the land was 
previously in corn, then seeding the oats, and disking 
the field again the other way. This seedbed is then 



42 THE BOOK OF CORN 

harrowed once with the orcHnarv iloating- harrow and 
the clover seeded, after whicli it is harrowed again 
crosswise of the previous harrowing. This method of 
preparing the seedbed provides a firm soil for the 
growth of the oats, which is to be desired, and also 
gets the ground into the best possible shape for the 
growth of the clover crop. In such cases the oats 
should be seeded medium to thin, as a verv dense 
growth of oats would interfere with the growth of the 
clover crop. With the ordinary varieties of oats, a 
seeding of one and one-half to two bushels of well- 
cleaned seed is sufficient. This will give a good crop 
of oats, protect the clover and not interfere with the 
growth of the plants. 

In this way a stand of clover can be secured with- 
out losing a crop from the field, an important con- 
sideration to the ordinary farmer. The clover seed is 
small and consequently contains little plant food. 
Therefore it must be seeded shallow in order that the 
young plants may reach the surface, yet deep enough 
to get sufficient moisture for the best germination. It 
is extremely difficult to get good clover seed. Very 
frequently the vitality of the seed has been injured by 
cutting too early or by improper harvesting and drying. 
If the seed is moist it is liable to heat, an injurious 
process to the vitality of the seed. 

Clover seed is very likely to be mixed with nox- 
ious weed seed. This weed seed is often of such a size 
and shape that it is impossible, or at any rate difficult, 
to separate it from the clover seed. For instance, 
buckhorn grows very much like the clover plant and 
matures seed about the same time. The seed is about 
the same diameter as the clover seed, and boat-shaped. 
In screening the clover seed these boat-shaped buck- 
horn seeds tip up and go through the clover screen, 
making it necessary to secure special cleaners. Other 



CORN GROWTH AND FKEDING 43 

varieties of weed seeds are often found in clover seed, 
as smartweed, stampweed, quack grass and pigeon 
grass. All of these weeds are detrimental to the land, 
and clover seed infested with them should not be used 
under any circumstances. Such seed should be burned 
or discarded if cleaning is impossible and the land put 
in some other crop if good seed cannot be obtained. 

The best rate of seeding- is about ten to twelve 
pounds of clover seed per acre. Less seed will give a 
poor, thin stand, and more is likely to result in small, 
spindling plants, besides being much more expensive. 
Poor seed should be seeded more thickly than good 
seed, but quality cannot be made up by the increase 
of quantity. Poor, weak seed will result in poor, small 
plants, no matter how rich and fertile the soil. The 
rate of seeding also varies with the soil. On poor soils 
the seeding should be heavier than on rich, fertile soils. 

In seeding poor spots in the field or poor soils of 
any kind, it is well to apply a good dressing of well- 
rotted barnyard manure before preparing the seedbed. 
It is a good plan to seed as early as possible in order 
to give the clover plants all the time possible for 
growth before the hot, dry weather begins. In this 
case the plants will have matured sufficiently to be 
more able to withstand the unfavorable weather. It 
will not kill out so easily when the oat crop or what- 
ever crop is used is removed at harvest time. 

Other nurse crops are said to be more favorable 
for clover seeding than oats. Rye. for instance, grows 
more thinly on the ground, allows the sun to strike the 
clover plants more freely and give them a greater 
opportunity for growth. Wheat is also near the head 
of the list as a valuable nurse crop and can be used in 
all wheat growing sections. 

In harvesting the nurse crop, cut as high as possi- 
ble. The stubs will protect the young clover plants 



44 THE BOOK OF CORN 

somewhat until they become accustomed to the full 
heat of the sun. If the nurse crop is cut close to the 
ground, the sudden removal of the shade will often 
result disastrously to the clover plants, especially if the 
season be hot and dry. The earlier the nurse crop can 
be cut the better, as it removes the protecting shade 
before the sun attains full summer strength. It has 
recently been found that by growing a crop of rape 
in the oat crop, that the rape, growing very rapidly 
after the oats are harvested, tends to protect the clover 
plants. All fields so seeded, that have been rci)()rted, 
are said to be very successful in securing a stand of 
clover. 

If possible, the clover crop should not be cut the 
first year, but can be cut the second season and the 
second crop of that year plowed under. This permits 
the greatest possible development of the root system 
and of the root tubercles. These root tubercles, with 
the power of taking nitrogen from the air, are the cause 
of the direct addition of nitrogen to the soil. The 
amount of nitrogen that can be added to the soil will 
depend on the number and size of root tubercles. In 
other words, it is the object of the clover grower to 
produce as many root tubercles as possible. 

The second method of seeding clover, i e, in the 
cornfield after the last cultivation, is often successful 
and is the source of considerable benefit to the soil 
where a good growth is secured. The seed is usually 
sown broadcast just before the cultivator during the 
last cultivation, so that it will be covered with moist soil. 
It should be seeded heavier than ordinary, ^s part of 
the seed is lost among the leaves of the corn plants, 
and under ordinary conditions of soil moisture at this 
season of the year, a considerable proportion of the 
seed will not receive moisture enough for germination. 
If the season is very dry the seed will not germinate, 






i^-^"^ 



r^-^T'. 



i -"'^- ..;:.;• K.>^, 









6 






3ilb^ 




46 THE J500K OF CORN 

therefore such a method can only be used in seasons 
when there is enough rainfall for germination. 

The third method of seeding, i e, alone, without 
any nurse crop, is recommended for some sections, 
such as Wisconsin. In this case the use of the land is 
usually lost for one year. In most old cultivated fields 
there is such a supply of weed seeds in the soil that the 
weeds grow faster than the clover crop. These weeds 
use up as much soil fertility as a nurse crop without 
any return. Therefore it is frequently more desirable 
to get a crop of grain rather than a crop of weeds, so 
that the nurse crop system is to be preferred. If the 
clover is seeded alone the seedbed should be prepared 
in the same manner, and seed sown at the same rate 
as when seeded with a nurse crop. However, in heavy 
soils, the land should be plowed and prepared as for 
corn, thus giving a better seedbed than could be se- 
cured if a nurse crop was grown with the clover. 

In plowing the clover sod for corn there are two 
methods used: i, to plow under the second crop in 
the fall ; 2, to allow the clover to get all possible growth 
in the spring and plow under just before corn plant- 
ing time. The desirability of either of these methods 
will depend largely upon the age of the crop. If the 
crop is plowed under the first year after seeding it 
should be allowed to grow in the spring as late as 
possible, then be turned under to a good depth. The 
soft stems and roots will quickly decay, so that the 
corn crop can be safely planted in such fields. If the 
clover is allowed to grow one year on the field, it 
should be plowed under in the fall. In this case it 
will take some time for the stems and roots to decom- 
pose, so that it is necessary to plow in the fall to get 
a thorough disintegration. The field should then be 
thoroughly disked in the spring before planting 
the corn. 



CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 47 

OTHER LEGUMINOUS CROPS 

Cowpcas and Soy Beans — Clover seems particu- 
larly adapted to central and northern United States. 
For southern fields all the elements of a successful 
nitrogen gathering crop have been found in the cow- 
pea and soy bean. Cowpeas are probably of Asiatic 
origin, being an article of human diet in India and 
China. The crop was introduced into southern United 
States and has rapidly spread until it is being generally 
grown as far north as central Michigan. The crop 
produces a large yield of very valuable feed and is one 
of the best for collecting atmospheric nitrogen. 

There are many varieties, as a result of continued 
selection and growth on widely differing soils and 
under different climatic conditions. Of these varieties 
the most common are the Whippoorwill, Black, Red, 
Clay and Black Eye. The Black Eye and Red are the 
favorites in central United States, while the Clay, 
Whippoorwill and Black Eye are most extensively 
grown under southern conditions. The Whippoorwill, 
Clay and Black Eye have particular trailing habits of 
growth, while the Black and Red are more bushy and 
upright growing varieties. The only objection to these 
crops corhes from the fact that with present machinery 
there is some difficulty in harvesting them. This diffi- 
culty will doubtless disappear as more improved ma- 
chinery is brought into general use. Where large 
quantities of stock are produced, and pasture is neces- 
sary, these crops are usually fed by simply turning the 
live stock into the fields. 

The seedbed for cozvpeas is prepared as for corn, 
by plowing medium to shallow and thoroughly pul- 
verizing the ground. The cowpeas are seeded broad- 
cast or in drills, the drill being most satisfactory 
because the fields can then be cultivated. In drilling, 



48 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the rows should be aliout thirty inches apart and the 
seed from two to four inches apart in the row. If the 
crop is grown for seed the rows should be at least 
thirty-six inches apart with the same number of seed in 
the row as in the thirty-inch rows. In this case it will 
be necessary to use about three-quarters to one 
and one-quarter bushels of seed per acre. The cow- 
peas should be drilled in at least two inches deep arid 
the field cultivated with weeder or harrow until the 
young plants come up. This will prevent the starting 
of weeds. This is the most important point in all cow- 
pea cultivation, as the weeds will quickly check the 
growth of the cowpeas and cannot be removed without 
hand labor after they once get a start. 

When grown simply for soil fertilizing purposes, 
the crop should be plowed under in the fall, when it 
will decompose before spring and be in shape for feed- 
ing the corn plants. When it is desirable to save the 
crop, it can be cut with the mower, cured, the seed 
threshed out in an ordinary separator. Part of the 
concaves and teeth should be removed and the machine 
run slowly in order not to break or injure the seed. If 
the seed is to be used for future planting, it should be 
dried before storing away in a bin. Otherwise it is 
likely to heat and the vitality will be destroyed. 

Before planting the seed it is absolutely necessary 
to test it in the sand germinator. Select samples of 
fifty seeds from ten representative places in the seed 
bin and mix together. Take out two hundred seeds 
and test in the germinator. The straw can be baled 
after threshing and stored in a barn or under some 
shelter. Experiments in growing corn on cowpea land 
prove that cowpeas are very valuable soil fertilizers. 
The growth of this crop is rapidly extending to all corn 
growing sections. By drilling in cowpeas between the 
rows of corn after the last cultivation a considerable 




CU 



50 TTIE ROOK OF CORN 

growth can be secured, and valuable results to the soil 
obtained. When cowpeas are so seeded, drill in two or 
three rows between every two rows of corn, covcrin.:^ 
the seed about two inches deep. These will mature 
during a favorable season, and if the crop is pas- 
tured off. will be the source of considerable food. 
The manure will be left on the field and the fertility of 
the soil improved. If the stalks are not pastured oflf, 
plow under in the spring, as early as possible, to a 
good depth. 

Soy beans are grown by the same methods as cow- 
peas. They seem to do particularly well in the winter 
wheat section of the United States and southern Can- 
ada. There are several varieties, the most common 
of which are early yellow, medium and late soy beans. 
The early yellow and the medium will mature in north- 
ern United States, the late in the southern sections. 

This crop is frequently planted, as is the cowpea, 
by drilling in with the corn planter. Tn this case large 
enough plates should be used in the planter boxes to 
drop one or two seeds every two or three inches. If a 
seed crop is desired, drill the rows the ordinary width 
of the planter rows. If a forage or soil fertilizer crop 
is the object, straddle the planter row^s so that WMth the 
ordinary three feet six inch planter the rows will be 
twenty-one inches apart. This method can also be 
used for planting cowpeas, care being taken that the 
planter plates do not break the beans or peas. 

The soy bean or coffee berry, as it is sometimes 
called, grows in an upright bushlike form, the pods 
containing three or more seeds clustered along the 
upper part of the stem. From the peculiarity of 
growth it is possible to harvest them easily and as a 
result they are extensively grown for feeding pur- 
poses. If a good stand is secured, the soy bean will 
produce a large crop. To be used for hay they should 



CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 5 1 

be cut early in the season while the seeds are in the 
milky stage. This will prevent in a large measure 
the formation of the hard, woody fiber, which is pres- 
ent in the matured plants and is detrimental for feed- 
ing purposes. As the plants are frequently harvested 
early in the season before the seeds are fully matured 
and dried out, and the seed stored in this condition, it 
frequently happens that the pile of seed heats, and the 
vitality is destroyed. It is absolutely necessary to test 
the vitality of all soy bean seed before planting. 

By moving the crop north gradually, the plants 
are so changed in their habit of maturity that they 
will become adapted to a great variety of climate. At 
present great crops of this soy bean are annually 
grown as far north as northern Michigan. As a result 
large tracts of country which at present are compara- 
tively sterile are being changed to very fertile and pro- 
ductive soils. From the results of wide practical ob- 
servation it has been found that soy beans are very 
valuable soil fertilizers for corn and that a crop of 
corn grown on soy bean land yields many more bushels 
per acre than corn grown on the same land not ferti- 
lized by soy beans. 

Alfalfa is a crop which is widely grown in west- 
ern states. In Kansas and Nebraska especially, corn 
grown on alfalfa land gives splendid returns. The 
alfalfa roots penetrating the soil to a great depth 
loosen the subsoil, and bring the soil fertility to the 
surface where the com plants can make use of it. Fur- 
ther, it adds to the supply of soil nitrogen and in this 
way prepares the soil for the corn crop. 

The only difficulty with alfalfa as a crop to be in- 
troduced into a corn rotation is that there is consid- 
erable trouble in securing a stand. Then the crop does 
not reach its full producing capacity until several years 
after seeding. This being the case, the alfalfa crop is 



52 THE BOOK OF CORN 

usually allowed to stand for several years, in some 
cases as long as five years. As many as four crops 
are frequently harvested every year. If these are taken 
off the soil and no manure returned, the land will 
eventually be drained of its fertility. As it is desirable 
to have something which can be seeded and a crop 
obtained the first year, alfalfa is not likely to come into 
general use as a part of a corn rotation. Further, this 
crop is not suited to all conditions and probably will 
always be grown upon such loose and porous soils as 
those of Kansas, Nebraska, and other western states. 

BARNYARD MANURE 

For enriching a soil for corn, barnyard manure is 
a most valuable fertilizer. By applying barnyard ma- 
nure the fertility of the soil is increased, the humus 
content is changed and the mechanical condition of the 
soil improved for the growth of the corn crop. The 
saving of barnyard manure is a serious problem to the 
average farmer. However, with a little pains and 
trouble the manure which would otherwise be washed 
away by heavy rains or dissipated into the atmosphere 
can be saved. The following plan gives most satis- 
factory results, in that it preserves the manure and 
composts it, making it ready and in a fit condition for 
application to the soil. 

A small, tight board lot should be constructed 
near the barn at a convenient distance from the stable 
door, but at least twenty-five yards away, so as not 
to draw flies into the barn. This pen is to hide the 
unsightly compost heap. Draw the manure from the 
barn to the compost pile in a wheelbarrow or other 
convenient vehicle. Pile this manure in a heap about 
ten feet wide and six feet high. If possible, wet down 
thoroughly and keep the manure pile racked in a neat 



CORN GRCAVTH AND FEEDING 53 

shape. Fork over occasionally, and when the time 
comes to haul the manure onto the field it will be well 
rotted and in the very best possible condition for 
application. There will be little loss of the elements 
of fertility during the rotting process, and as a result 
the full benefit of the manure will be retained for the 
use of the crop. The advantages of this system are 
that it conserves the plant food in the manure, pre- 
pares the manure for spreading and keeps it ready for 
use until it can be taken to the fields. 

Use of Manure Spreader — In spreading, it is a 
great advantage to use an improved manure spreader, 
as manure will be scattered more evenly over the field. 
Such a spreader will pay for itself many times on an 
average sized farm. The best time to apply manure, 
other things being equal, is in the latter part of winter. 
If the manure is particularly well rotted, the applica- 
tion can wait until a short time before plowing. How- 
ever, late winter is the most general time for spreading 
manure. Then little injury is done the fields by the 
passage of wagons, and the farmer usually has the 
most leisure for this kind of work. The manure, if not 
thoroughly rotted when spread over the field, will have 
time to decompose before it is turned under. 

A common practice is to haul the manure out 
onto the field and pile in small regular heaps. This 
entails double labor, and the fertility in the manure is 
washed down into one spot to a great extent, where it 
will do more damage than good. The plants growing 
on the excessively fertile spot are likely to develop an 
exceptionally large growth of stem and comparatively 
little seed. One of the best places to apply manure is 
on a pasture. Here, where the animals feed on the 
grass and drop the manure directly back upon the 
ground, thus abstracting very little plant food from 
the soil, the extra fertility is gradually stored up in the 



54 THE BOOK OF CORN 

upper layers of the i^round. It should be applied to 
pasture during the winter so as not to interfere with 
the growth of the grasses. 

Commercial fertilizers are as yet but little used for 
corn in the great corn belt of the west, but are largely 
employed with profit for corn in the eastern and south- 
ern parts of the United States. This subject is dis- 
cussed in another chapter. 



CHAPTER IV 

iBrPFiiug anh ^Htctian of ^tth dam 

/^lY ORN breeding has become a specialized industry, 
i I Like stock breeding, the development of corn 
\i»^ varieties will always be more or less in the 
hands of men who devote their lives to this 
particular work. All great progress will be made by 
those especially fitted for work of this kind. As the 
field is broad and the results extremely profitable, 
there will be no lack of men trained for this special 
business. 

The ordinary or general farmer will never breed 
com. He must secure seed from the specialist and 
from this source procure improved strains. Eventu- 
ally the valuable characteristics will be lost through 
crossing and indiscriminate selection. The seed will 
then have to be renewed. In such cases the farmer 
must secure such strains of corn as are adapted to his 
conditions of soil and climate. Otherwise the bene- 
ficial effect of the special breeding might be lost. The 
live stock breeder usually cannot afford to breed corn 
and will depend for the most part on the corn breeder 
for his seed. 

The field for this branch of farming is very great, 
as is shown by the fact that the corn growers of Illinois 
alone use over one million bushels of seed every year. 
The annual consumption of seed corn in the United 
States is probably in excess of twenty million bushels. 
Of course, it is not necessary that this seed be se- 
cured from the breeder fresh every year, but as a 
rule seed will not remain pure more than four or five 
years. It then becomes necessary to again secure well- 



56 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



bred seed. As yet the demand has been but little de- 
veloped. Farmers are just be£2:iiining to realize the 
importance and benefit of improved seed, but even now 
corn breeders are not able to supply the demand. That 
this demand will increase far beyond the capacity of 
corn breeders to supply, there is no doubt. 

The advanta.G:es of improved seed 
corn are numerous and the grower 
quickly reaps the benefit. For instance, 
barrenness can be bred out of corn. The 
barren stalks represent a direct and g-reat 
loss to the corn grower. If every stalk of 
corn bore an average sized ear weighing 
a pound in a field planted in hills of three 
feet six inches by three feet six inches, 
one stalk to the hill, there would be a 
yield of about fifty bushels to the acre ; if 
two stalks in every hill, the yield would 
be over one hundred bushels per acre. 
As it is very probable that ever}- field has 
an average of at least two stalks to the 
hill, one year with another, why is it that 
the average yield is less than one-third 
the above ideal yield ? Part of the loss is 
undoubtedly due to the fact that some of 
the stalks produce no ears. Bv eliminat- 

Fig \7 corn Silk j^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^.^^.^^ ^^^jj^g^ ^j^j^ j^gg ^.^^i^i 5. 

Greatly magrii- *- 
fied.showiniigraiiis OVCrCOme. 

of pollen adhering j^ .^ further truc that the ears are 
not uniform in size. Only a small proportion are 
uniformly large. The majority are irregular, many 
being verv small and stunted. It is the function 
of the corn breeder to increase the uniformity 
of the crop by selecting and preserving only the 
best ears. The proportion of corn to cob, the 
shape of ear, the filling out of ends, are all subject 



BREEDING AND ^SELECTION 57 

to the breeder's influence, so that by continuous 
selecting a uniform, improved type may be im- 
pressed on the variety for the benefit of the grower. 
This benefit is out of ah proportion to the increased 
cost of seed for improved strains. In buying an ear of 
corn, the growers get a thousand individuals capable 
of reproducing themselves in one year. The live stock 
breeder, on the other hand, pays a great amount of 
money for one individual which requires a mate. 

From the nature of past conditions little attempt 
was made to systematically improve corn. The corn 
plant was but little understood. In fact, the whole 
field of corn development is practically unexplored. 
Enough is known, however, to show the boundless 
possibilities and in a general way to direct the work of 
the breeders to some definite end. Following will be 
given an outline of the methods now in use. These are 
the result of the experience of the past and the study 
of the present. 

APPROVED METHODS OBSERVED IN BREEDING 

There are two grades of seed com — the highly- 
bred seed and the stock seed. The highly-bred seed 
can never exist in large quantities and will conse- 
quently never enter into the commercial transactions 
of the corn breeder to any great extent. 

By highly-hrcd seed is meant seed that is the very 
highest representatives of the improved types. In 
other words, those ears which as nearly as possible 
represent the ideal ear. As every ear is different from 
every other ear, there can never be a large number of 
such ears. However, this very fact of wide variation 
makes the improvement of varieties possible. If there 
was no variation from which selection could be made, 
there could be no improvement. It is by selecting 
those ears which vary in the direction desired and dis- 



58 THE BOOK OF CORN 

carding the poor ears that a general advance can 
be made. 

The stock seed is the corn one generation removed 
from the highly-bred seed. The corn breeder will con- 
centrate his main effort in the production of highly- 
bred seed. From this seed any cjiiantity of stock seed 
may be grown and sold to the farmers. This seed pos- . 
sesses all the good points of the highly-bred seed, and 
differs only in the fact that individual selection by the 
corn breeder has ceased. This kind of seed can be 
produced in large quantities and can be sold at a mod- 
erate price. 

The selection of the variety is the first important 
point in breeding seed corn. The variety must be 
adapted to the conditions of soil and climate in which 
it is to be grown. Of course, by reason of the great 
variation in corn, varieties suited to almost any condi- 
tions may be chosen, but in order to save time, it is 
wise to begin with a variety already adapted to the 
conditions. It takes considerable time to effect any 
change, consequently a variety which has been thor- 
oughly tested should be selected. There will be ample 
opportunity to make any desired changes, and by tak- 
ing advantage of the previous breeder's effort, much 
time may be saved. If a mongrel or impoverished 
strain be selected, it will require years of the most 
careful work to get the variety ready for definite 
improvement. In other words, it will require years tj 
eliminate unfavorable characteristics. For the same 
reason it is not wise to select a variety the result of a 
recent cross. There is already so much variation in 
corn that it is not desirable to begin with a corn which 
has the characteristics thrown together in confusion. 
It is better to select one with the characteristics sorted 
out, then give them definite direction bv selection. 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 



59 



Otherwise the undesirable characteristics will crop out 
from time to time, and will hinder improvement. 

The color of the variety is unimportant, except that 
there is frequently a prejudice in favor of a particular 
color in a neighborhood, or among a certain class of 
corn growers. A farmer who has always grown white 
corn is apt to fancy that color, and vice versa. In any 




Cross-bred 



Self -fertilized 



Fig 18— Effect of Inbreeding 

Small stalks inbrtd; large stalks cross-bred 



case, the breeder must select a color that he desires 
and likes. Otherwise, he will not so readily become 
attached to his particular strain. It is unwise, however, 
to begin with any variety which is unusual, as a striped 
kernel, but more judicious to select a solid, deep, 
strong color. 



6o THE BOOK OF CORN 

In every case it is very important to begin with a 
corn which has possibilities. In the animal this would 
be called constitution. This so-called constitution in 
corn consists of a good-sized kernel with large germ, a 
medium to large cob, and a long ear. In the flint corn, 
however, a medium to small ear is usually preferred. 
It is easier to trim down undesirable features than to 
build up absent ones. It is also extremely important 
that the variety has a large, well-developed stalk with 
broad leaves, and an extensive root development. This 
provides for the development of the ear, and makes it 
possible to bring about almost any desired im- 
provement. 

Influence of Soil on Development — The soil upon 
which the corn is to be grown has a very important 
influence on the character of the variety. A poor soil, 
or a soil deficient in any element of fertility, or one 
which is in poor mechanical condition, will produce 
poor stalks and poor ears. On the other hand, a soil 
having the proper proportions of the elements and 
handled so as to be in the best possible mechanical 
condition, will give the best results. It is further neces- 
sary to rotate the crops on the soil. If corn is grown 
year after year upon the same field, numerous insect 
enemies accumulate and little opportunity is given for 
the development of corn. The ideal conditions of soil 
seem to be the prairie loam of the ^Mississippi valley, 
so rotated as to include leguminous crops, assisted by 
judicious applications of manure. If the soil is found 
to be lacking in any particular, the deficient element 
should be supplied in some way, as by commercial 
fertilizer. 

Thorough underdrainage is absolutely necessary 
for a successful corn breeding field. This is true in 
order that the best possible mechanical condition be 
maintained. All superfluous water is drained oflf 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 6l 

quickly and the soil is then prepared to hold moisture 
against a summer drouth. 

Soil Preparation in Breeding — The preparation 
of soil and cultivation of the fields should be consistent 
with g-ood practice for the particular neighborhood 
in which the corn is grown. It is possible that extra 
surface stirring will be found profitable and useful 
during the summer in order to conserve all possible 
moisture. One important point is to plant the corn 
immediately after the seedbed has been prepared. 

The thickness of planting must vary with the fer- 
tility of the soil and with other conditions. The gen- 
eral rule is to plant few kernels in the hill far enough 
apart to admit of the best possible cultivation. The 
usual distance is three feet six inches between the hills, 
and to plant three kernels in every hill. If three stalks 
is too great a number, one or more can be pulled out 
early in the season, and the field thinned to the number 
desired. 

Breeding Field — The highly-bred field must neces- 
sarily be small. This is true because there must be 
individual selection and a large field would make the 
most careful attention impossible. On the other hand, 
a small field will allow all possible intensive selection. 
A good-sized field for this purpose is about an acre. 
This must be so located as to prevent crossing. As the 
pollen from corn will float about in the atmosphere for 
at least a quarter of a mile, or farther, it can be seen 
that this breeding plat must either be located far away 
from other cornfields or protected in some way. This 
protection ma}^ be given bv a hedge or other obstruc- 
tion, or the breeding plat may be located in the field 
of the same variety. If this last plan is adopted, the 
field should be planted from highly-bred or stock seed, 
so that the corn-breeding plat will not be fertilized by 
the pollen from inferior stalks of corn. The best plan, 



62 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



if possible, is to isolate the breeding plat. It has even 
been suggested that for very highly-bred corn it may 
pay to raise a small plat under a cheesecloth shed, ac- 
cording to this new practice in tobacco culture, though 
this is not practical on a large scale. The breeding 
area must be so planned that every seed ear is planted 
in a definite space. There are two general ways of do- 
ing this and both give satisfactory results. Whether 




Cross-pollinated 



Self-fertilized 



Fig 19— Effect of Three Years' InbreedinK 

Larg^e stalks and ears cross-pollinated; small stalks and cars inbred 



there is any special benefit in cither plan is not known, 
and it remains for future experience to demonstrate 
the best methods of planting. The two systems are 
called the plat and the row systems. In the plat system 
a plat usually ten hills square is planted from a seed 
ear. This plat is definitely located and any remaining 
kernels on the ear are preserved, properly marked, for 
future reference. The plats are arranged in a square 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 



^Z 



to allow the greatest possible amount of fertilization 
within the plat. The accompanying" diagram shows in 
general the arrangement of the plats : 



1 

13 
19 
2.'j 
31 


2 
8 
14 
20 
26 
32 


3 
9 

15 
21 
27 
03 


4 

10 
16 

22 
28 
C4 


5 
11 
17 
23 
29 
35 


6 
12 
18 
IT 
30 
36 



Breedin? Plats Arranged in Squares 



I 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

lo, etc. up to say 36 rows. 

Breeding Plats Arranged in Rows Each of One Hundred Hills 

The three thousand six hundred hills make a con- 
venient number and can be enlarged or decreased at 
will of the breeder. The object is to secure the num- 
ber which will give enough seed for producing stock 
seed, and yet small enough so that every ear can bo 
carefully studied before a final selection is made. 

The principle underlying; this plan of selection 
and planting is this : In the fall, the ears from each plat 
or row are put into separate bags and taken to the 
seed house. In all cases ears should be selected only 
from well-developed and strong stalks. The bags 



64 THE BOOK OF CORN 

should be numbered to correspond to the rows from 
which the com has been husked. Each bag of corn 
should be laid out separately, weighed, and the num- 
ber of ears true to type and of the kind desired 
picked out and laid by themselves. The ten rows or 
plats producing the largest yield and number of ears 
of the type desired must have been planted from seed 
prepotent for the production of that type. Now, if the 
seed for the next year's seed plat be taken from these 
plats or rows, this prepotency will be taken advantage 
of and preserved. The rest of the corn can be used to 
plant the fields for growing stock seed. 

Barren Stalks in Breeding Plat — During the sum- 
mer the breeder should go through the breeding plat 
and cut out all poor, dwarfed or barren stalks. This 
should be done just as the tassels are coming out, and 
before any of the pollen has been shed. This plan will 
prevent the seed being fertilized by the pollen of these 
undesirable stalks. It will assist in getting rid of 
barren and other useless stalks. If these stalks are 
not cut out, they should be detasselcd. This will pre- 
vent any damage and will insure against any possi- 
ble loss. 

Corn Is Cross-Pollinated — Naturally corn is cross- 
fertilized. The silks on a stalk mature at a different 
time than the pollen, so that the pollen of one stalk fer- 
tilizes the silks of other stalks. By a careful count i 
found that in the ordinary' dent varieties each plant is 
capable of producing about thirty million pollen grains. 
These pollen grains are wafted by the wind about the 
field, and if blown upon a silk which is ready for ferti- 
lization they will attach themselves to it and perform 
the function of fertilization. This production of pollen 
is an enormous draft on the strength of the plant. By 
removing the pollen at the proper time, so as not to 
injure the plant, and allowing the ear to be fertilized 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 



65 



by other pollen, the ears on such detasseled stalks are 
better developed than the ears on the stalks not so 
detasseled. By detasseling two rows and leaving two 
rows with tassels, enough pollen will be provided for 
the complete fertilization of the field. See Fig 22, 
illustrating pollen grains greatly magnified. 

The Illinois experiment station found that by in- 
breeding, that is, placing the pollen of the stalk upon 
the silks of the ear on the same stalk, the size of the ear 




Pig 20— Effect of Four Years* Inbreeding 

Small row inbred; large row cross-bred 

and stalk would be eventually decreased. In other 
words it appears as though inbreeding in corn tends to 
develop weakness and a general deterioration of the 
vitality of the plants. 

The crossing of varieties, however, is now known 
to lead to beneficial results in the present varieties. 
There seems to be enough variation in any one variety 
to select from, and by introducing foreign character- 
istics it becomes very difficult to fix any of them. 



66 THE I5O0K OF CORN 

Further, as corn naturally crosses within the variety, it 
would seem that there is little danger from the evil 
effects of inhreeding, in the judicious selection of seed 
Irom one variety or strain. 

SEED CORN STOREHOUSE 

In storing the seed, care should be taken that the 
ears are thoroughly dried out before being placed in 
a bin or other receptacle. This can be done by artificial 
heat or by a stove in the seed house or other means. 
In ordinary seasons fire drying is not absolutely neces- 
sary, but is a precaution which it is wise to adopt 
every season. 

The best plan to date is to place a single layer of 
ears on the floor of a tight seed room. This seed room 
should be sufficiently large to admit of storing all the 
seed corn. This row of ears should be put down care- 
fully, all ears being turned the same way. Now place 
a second layer on top of the first, reversing the posi- 
tion of butt and tip, so that the butts of the ears on the 
second layer will rest on the tips of the ears of the first 
layer. Lay two more sets of ears in similar position 
on top of the first two. Then place a one by one-inch 
piece on each side, one on tip and the other on butt. 
In order to do this it will be advisable to have upright 
two by four pieces set along the row about eight feet 
apart. These small side strips can then be tacked on 
cither side of the upright pieces. This will permit the 
piling of the corn from the floor to the ceiling, admit- 
ting of the storing of a very large amount of corn in 
the smallest possible space. 

It is convenient to have a small stove set in the 
middle of the room so that on damp, cold days a slight 
heat will dispel all moisture and remove all danger 
from freezing. When the corn is to be taken down 
the top layer should be removed first, with the aid of a 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 6j 

step ladder, and so on until the entire section is 
removed. A space of two feet, or any convenient 
distance, should be left between every section so the 
air may circulate freely and the corn can easily be 

inspected at any time. 
All windows, etc, 
should be battened se- 
curely so that no snow 
or rain can drive in 
during storms. 

Selection of Seed 
Corn in Field — In se- 
lecting stock seed in the 
field, the most conven- 
ient plan is to make 
a partition in the 
wagon bed. As the 
busker goes along the 
rows, he can easily 
throw the good ears 
from the good stalks 
into one compartment, 
and the poor ears or 
ears from poor stalks 
into the other. A sec- 
ond selection must be 
made at the seed house, 
and all undesirable ears 
Fig 21-IllustratingVoung Ear of Com thrown OUt which es- 
Before Silking c a p c d the cvc of the 

Magnified , , t "'i , i 

husker. In order to do 
this most satisfactory and economically, the selected 
corn can be thrown out of the wagon into a general 
bin at the seed house. Here other men can select 
the seed to be finally preserved and pile it up in 
sections, discarding all inferior ears. During the 




68 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



winter the ears can be taken down and packed 
for shipment. All seed com should be shipped 
on the cob, and it will not be many years until 
it will be impossible to sell shelled seed in the case of 
corn to be used for breeding pvirposes. A most con- 
venient method of shipping- is to wrap every ear in a 
piece of old newspaper, and put the ears in a box 
which will hold about one bushel. This box or crate 
can be purchased of box factories, or the seed grower 

can make it himself at a 
slight expense. A sugar 
barrel is convenient for 
packing large shipments. 
Shipping Seed Corn — 
In any event, the greatest 
care should be taken that 
the seed corn reaches the 
customer in the best possi- 
ble condition, with no in- 
jury to the ear. It is also 
desirable that care be 
taken to groom the ears, 
by removing all shanks or 
husks, and the ear be made 
to present the best possible 
impression on the cus- 
tomer. 

It is imperative that all 
seed sent out should be 
thoroughly tested, and 
test not less than ninetv- 
five per cent vitality. The practice of unscrupulous 
seed dealers in the past has justly prejudiced many 
people against the use of imported seed com. In many 
cases the corn was poor in (juality and of no particidar 
selection, so that the results were unsatisfactory. This 




Fig 22— Pollen Grains on Silk 

Greatly magnified 



BREEDING AND SELECTION 6g 

condition of the seed business cannot endure any 
longer and consequently such dealers are being rapidly 
driven out of business. With improved seed, increased 
yields may be expected and a better kind of farming 
come into general practice. 



CHAPTER V 

(Eurn ilutiging 

/^ ORN judging is a matter of comparative rather 
i I than individual study. Varieties must be 
^ta^ judged by variety, rather than by general 
standards. The valuable points in one variety 
may be detrimental in some other variety. For 
instance, Boone Count}' White has medium to long 
ears, while the ideal ear of Silver Mine is not so 
long. Boone County White is a medium to late 
maturing corn, and Silver Mine is an early variety. 
If Silver Mine ears were as long as Boone County 
White the period of maturity would be lengthened. 
This is undesirable. Golden Eagle has a very long 
kernel, with an exceptionally deep indentation, which 
is undesirable in a variety like Reid's Yellow Dent. 

Variety Type Must Be Considered — These pecu- 
liar variety characteristics can be changed in any vari- 
ety by careful breeding, but it is advisable to develop 
rather than to change them, as they usually are partic- 
ularly adapted to conditions of soil or climate. In 
developing milch cattle it is the object of the breeder 
to develop the milk-giving quality of his particular 
strain, so in breeding corn it is the object of the 
breeder to develop some particular characteristic. In 
doing this, however, the breeder must keep in mind 
certain general characteristics of corn in order thit 
the variety be not weakened in certain other general 
points. 

For instance, in breeding cattle, the Dutch Belted 
strain was bred with the idea of ])rcserving the white 
belt, and if a calf was born without this feature it was 



CORN JUDGING 7I 

consigned to the slaughter pen, no matter if it was 
particularly strong and desirable from other stand- 
points. Eventually some strains of this breed were 
weakened in constitution, and such strains became gen- 
erally undesirable. In other words, the color, a point 
of minor importance, determined selection to the detri- 
ment of the breed in general. 

Standards of Perfection — There are certain gen- 
eral points in all varieties of corn which must be taken 
into consideration by the judge and the breeder. This 
has led to the formulation of these general points in a 
so-called score card. In this standard of perfection for 
corn the corn growers have given the different points 
in an ear of corn their proper degree of importance. 
It is an invaluable guide to the judge in keeping in 
mind during judging a proper sense of the propor- 
tional importance of the general points, so that pecu- 
liar characteristics are not given undue importance. A 
score card for corn was first formulated by the late 
Orange Judd and was recently modified and revised by 
the members of the Illinois corn growers' association. 
This lead was immediately followed by other score 
cards made by the corn growers' societies of othei 
states. At present there are several in existence. Thev 
have been continually revised as a result of the further 
study of corn. Inasmuch as the Illinois corn growers' 
association's score card has been used of late, as a 
basis for the formation of many of the other standards 
in other states, and as Illinois is a recognized leader in 
this work, the improved and revised score card now in 
use in this state will be given. Changes may be made 
in this score card adapting it to future conditions, 
but its present form will be the basis of all other 
such score cards. The score card at present is as 
follows : 



72 THE BOOK OF CORN 



SCORE CARD FOR JUDGING CORN 

1. Shape 5 

2. Uniformity lo 

3. Purity of color of grain and cob 10 

4. Filling out of tips 10 

5. Filling out of butts 5 

6. Ripeness 5 

7. Circumference 5 

8. Length 10 

9. Shape of kernel 5 

10. Uniformity of kernel 5 

11. Proportion of grain to cob 20 

12. Space 10 

Total 100 



EXPLANATION OF POINTS 

1. Uniformity — Uniform shape, size, indentation and 
type of ears. 

2. Shape — Shape of ears should conform to variety 
type, usually cylindrical, i e, of equal circumference from butt 
to tip. 

3. Color — Free from mixture and true to variety color. 

4. Market Condition — Ripeness, soundness, ear firm and 
well matured. 

5. Tip — Kernels filled over tip in regular manner. 

6. Butt — Kernels swelled about ear stalk, leaving deep 
depression when shank is removed. 

7. Kernel Uniformity — Uniform shape, size, and con- 
formity to variety type. 

8. Kernel Shape — Wedge shape, straight edges and 
large germ. 

9. Length — Varies with variety measure. 

10. Circumference — Varies with variety measure. 

11. Space — Furrow between tops of rows of kernels. 

12. Proportion — Proportion of weight of grain to cob, 
weight varies with variety. 



GENERAL RULES FOR JUDGING 

I. The circtimference should be measured at one- 
third the distance from the butt to the tip and one 
point should be cut for every inch the exhibit is short 
of standard. 




a — 
E -a" 



74 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



2. The length should be measured from the ex- 
treme tip to butt, and a cut of two points should be 
made for every inch the exhibit is short of standard. 

3. Yellow corn should have a red cob, and white 
corn a white cob. 

4. The proportion of corn to cob is found by 
taking- every other ear in the exhibit, weighing the ears, 
then shelling the corn and weighing the cobs. By di- 
viding the weight of shelled corn by the total weight 
of the ears the percentage of corn can be found. A 
cut of one point should be made for every per cent the 
exhibit is short of standard. 

V.\RIETY STANDARDS 

Each particular variety has its characteristic shape, 
etc, which must be known by the judge in order to 
properly pass upon the exhil:)it. P\irther, each variety 
has its peculiar length, circumference, and proportion 
of corn to col). These by a careful study of the best 
samples of the different recognized varieties, are 
as follows : 





5f 

S 


£^2 
oC 


u 

> z 




a> 

— ^ 

Bib, 


rt 




10 in 

7 in 
80% 


10 In 
7.5 in 

86% 


9 in 
7 in 

90% 


10 in 
7 in 

88% 


9 in 

7 in 
90% 


9 in 




7 in 


Proportion corn to cob.. 


90% 



A general standard of perfection has been used by 
western corn growers in the judging of corn, as 
follows : 

Length lo-ii inches 

Circumference 7S^ inches 

Proportion of corn to cob 90 per cent 



CORN JUDGING 75 

This standard can be used in judging varieties or 
samples not named, and where the exhibit is not made 
under variety classification. 

PRACTICAL JUDGING HINTS 

In judging corn, it is the custom to use ten ears 
for a single sample. This number furnishes the most 
simple and easy calculation, and has been adopted 
as the standard number for all exhibitions. It is very 
desirable that the exhibits be so arranged that the 
samples can be laid out side by side on a table^ with a 
few inches of space between each sample. It is con- 
venient for the judges to work on a table about three 
feet high and it is imperative that there be a good light 
on all sides of the samples. The samples should be 
handled as little as possible during judging, care being 
taken that no kernels be knocked off by careless drop- 
ping of the ears. Any kernels that are missing are 
usually regarded as mixed and the usual cut made for 
such imperfection. This danger of injury can be 
avoided in shipping by carefully wrapping each ear in 
a piece of newspaper or other protection, and packing 
the ears firmly in the shipping box. 

Corn should never be sent to any exhibition in a 
basket or bag, as there is always great danger of dam- 
age from careless handling. It is always allowable 
and perfectly proper that the exhibitor take special 
pains in preparing the exhibit for the judge. All silks 
and shanks should be carefully removed and the ears 
groomed so as to present the best possible appearance. 
However, it is not allowable to mutilate or cut the ear 
itself in any way. Any ear with the protruding tip 
cut off should always be cut to the limit, as the pre- 
sumption is that the tip was very poor or it would not 
have been cut off. Neither is it allowable to remove 
mixed kernels and substitute kernels of proper color. 



76 THE BOOK OF CORN 

Changes of this sort can usually be easily detected by 
the expert judge, and a full cut for color for that ear 
should be made. 

The shape and other characteristics of ears will 
vary with every variety. It is the function of the ex- 
pert judge to know the variety characteristics and to 
score accordingly. 

HOW TO STUDY THE EXHIBIT 

Shape — In general an ear should be cylindrical. 
This shape allows the development of uniform deep 
kernels from butt to tip and usually results in a large 
percentage of corn to cob. However, the characteristic 
Leaming car is partly cylindrical, that is. cylindrical 
for part of its length at butt and then slowly tapers 
to the tip. This is usually the result of dropping a 
row or more of kernels, about one-third the distance 
from butt to tip. In the Leaming variety, this charac- 
teristic shape is not particularly objectionable and no 
cut should be made for such condition. 

The third grade of shape is the tapering ear, 
which begins to taper at butt and the ear runs out to a 
sharp-pointed tip. Such shape is always objectionable 
from the fact that the butt kernels are large and the tip 
kernels ver}^ small, usually the case of an ear with a 
small percentage of cob to corn. The characteristic 
shaped exhibit should be given the full number of 
points, while for every partly cylindrical ear a cut of 
one-fourth point should be made, and for every taper- 
ing ear a full cut. There are gradations between the 
cylindrical, partly cylindrical and the tapering which 
must be taken into account by the judge. 

Uniformity — A uniform exhibit means a sample 
all of the cars of which have the same size, shape, type 
and general characteristics. This is one of the most 
important points in the score card. A uniform exhibit 



CORN TV DC. INC. 'J'J 

shows i^ood breeding-, while an irregular exhibit shows 
poor selection. In judging uniformity the characteris- 
tics of the ear must all be taken into consideration. 
The indentation of the kernels, color and straightness 
of rows must be particularly taken into account. The 
rows should all run parallel to the axis of the cob. If 
they are crooked or as is frequently the case turn to the 
right or left in a spiral manner, a proper cut should be 
made. The most simple way for the judge to decide 
upon the marking for uniformity is to push out all 
irregular ears and then decide upon the cut to be made 
from the proportion of uniform to the not uniform ears. 

Color — The color should be either a pure yellow 
with a deep red cob or a pure white with a white cob. 
A white cob in a yellow sample or a red cob in a white 
sample should bar the exhibit. It indicates very poor 
b'-eeding, just as a poor grade cow in an exhibit of 
pure-bred cattle would indicate poor breeding. In 
many cases individual kernels are tinted, the yellow 
with white and the white with yellow color. In this 
case it shows that a single stray pollen grain has fallen 
upon a single silk and fertilized the kernel. It is of 
little detriment to the variety and should be judged 
accordingly. A rule followed by many expert judges 
is to cut one-fourth point for two, one-half point for 
five, three-fourths point for seven and one point for 
ten or more mixed kernels. A white ear or cob tinted 
with yellow or a yellow ear tinted with white must be 
cut according to the judgment of the scorer. 

Tip — The tip should be covered with uniform- 
sized kernels. If the tip of the cob is partly exposed, 
a half point cut should be made, and if wholly uncov- 
ered a full cut must be given. The covering of the 
tip is a very important point in the ear. The failure 
of an ear to have the tip fully filled out mav be due 
to several things, first and most generally to the irregu- 



78 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



lar maturing of all parts of the ear. As the kernels 
mature from the butt to the tip of the ear, the differ- 
ence in time of maturing of the butt and the tip may be 
so great that the silks on the tip do not become ready 
for fertilization until the pollen of that variety is gone. 
Now if the tip is filled at all it must be by pollen from 




Fig: 24— lllustratinff Pollen Grains 

Magnififd. <-;cc Chapter IV 

some other later variety or else it remains unfertilized 
and a poorly filled tip is the result. 

There are many illustrations of this in every field 
of corn which has been grown by the side of another 
field of a diflferent color. For instance, a pure white 
ear frequently has the tip filled out with yellow ker- 



CORN JUDGING 79 

nels, or vice versa. The filling' of the tip is also influ- 
enced by the season. If an unfavorable season, as a 
very dry spell during pollination or a very stormy 
period, the pollen is destroyed before it has time to 
fertilize the ear fully. In such seasons and under these 
circumstances, whole sections of cornfields are poorly 
filled. It is desirable that the variety be so bred that 
all parts of the ear mature in time for the pollen to 
fully fertilize them. This can be accomplished by the 
breeder selecting for seed only those ears which are 
well filled out over the tips. 

Bitft — In a well filled butt the kernels should 
stand out about the shank so that when the ear is 
broken from the shank a small hollow or receptacle 
is left. This assists in securing a large proportion of 
corn to cob. Not only is this true, but a poorly filled 
butt is usually accompanied by a large shank. This 
large, strong shank makes it very difficult for the ear 
to be broken off during husking, an undesirable qual- 
ity in any variety. On the other hand, if the butt is 
very small the shank supporting the ear on the stalk 
may become so weak that it cannot hold the ear se- 
curely and the result will be that the ears will be too 
easily blown off during windstorms. If the butt is 
partly covered a half point cut should be made and if 
the end of the cob is even with the kernels, a full cut. 

Circumference — In measuring the circumference 
of an ear pick up the ear in the left hand, holding the 
tape line in the right. Press the forefinger of the left 
hand on the end of the tape and with the right hand 
bring the tape line around the ear so that a glance can 
accurately get the measurement in mind. Keep in 
mind the deduction in scoring each ear as every ear is 
measured, and when through measuring subtract the 
total cut from five, in this way getting the marking 
for circumference. The circumference is usually meas- 



80 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ured about one-third the distance from the butt to tip, 
because tliis seems to be the most constant point in all 
ears. If there are any kernels dropped or other irregu- 
larity, it usually begins about this point in the ear. 

LcngtJh — In measuring the length the most simple 
and satisfactory plan is to hold the ruler in both hands 
so that the left hand near the butt of the ear can guide 
measurement. Have a ruler at least twelve inches in 
length, as many ears are that long. By holding the 
thumb of the right hand at the eleven-inch mark or 
whatever length is the standard, and running the ruler 
over all of the ears, a quick measurement can be made. 
The judge should keep in mind the number of inches 
every ear is short of standard, and by adding these 
measurements the total amount of shortage is found. 
Now, in the case of the ten-ear exhibit, a total shortage 
of ten inches would indicate a cut of one point, twenty 
inches two points, etc. 

Ripeness — The ripeness indicating maturity is 
largely a matter of judgment and no set rules can be 
given for the guidance of the judge. On ears that 
are not thoroughly sound and dried out, firm, and 
when violently twisted give a crisp rasping sound, the 
full cut should be made. An ear on which the rows of 
kernels are loose, and in which a knife blade can be 
stuck down between the rows, is immature. Frequently 
the kernels are very deep and have specially deep in- 
dentations. If this be carried too far. the kernels will 
not fill out or mature properly and a chaffy ear will 
result. This condition should be taken into considera- 
tion under this head. If there are any rotten or imma- 
ture kernels in an otherwise fairly well matured ear a 
proportional cut should be made. 

Kernel SJwpe — The shape of kernel varies with 
the different varieties. Every variety has a charac- 
teristic shape of kernel, but in general there are cer- 



CORN JUDGING Ol 

tain conditions of shape that all kernels must fill. The 
ideal is the wedge shape. In such cases the kernels set 
in a cob will fill up all of the available space on the 
ear and will allow of the development of deep kernels. 
If the kernels are square they will angle and a space 
between the rows of kernels will result. A broad, 
square kernel is usually shallow and only a few rows 
of kernels can be held on each cob. This means a 
small percentage of corn to cob. On the other hand, a 
wedge-shaped kernel is usually found on an ear with a 
large number of rows of kernels and resulting in a 
large percentage of corn to cob. The sides of the ker- 
nels should be straight. In some cases the corners of 
the kernels will usually be broad and shallow, and 
there will be only a few rows of kernels in the ear. 
This sort of kernels is the flinty type and is early ma- 
turing. In judging the shape it is a good plan to take 
out two kernels from each ear from about the middle 
of the ear and lay them out in front of the ear. Push 
out in a separate row the ill-shaped kernels and deter- 
mine the marking by the proportion of well-shaped 
kernels. 

Kernel Uniformity — The uniformity of kernels 
can be determined largely by an examination of the 
ears. The kernels should be of the same size in all 
parts of the ear with the exception of the egg-shaped 
rounded tip. The kernels of the different ears should 
be of the same size and have the same general charac- 
ter of indentation. The marking on this point is largely 
a matter of judgment and cannot be guided by any 
set rule. 

Space behveen rows is the furrows formed by the 
rounding off of the tops of the kernels. It is not, as is 
generally supposed, the space found on immature ears 
or ears where the rows of kernels are loose. The ear 
with space is usually firm and well matured, but the 



82 HE BOOK OF CORN 

rounded or ill-shaped kernels cause the development 
of the space. It is indicative of poor breedine. and is 
usually found in ears having- but few rows of kernels. 
These kernels are usually shallow and btoad, and 
rounded at the corners. Such ears always yield a com- 
paratively small percentage of corn to cob. Tn mark- 
ing space between rows it is good policy in order to 
get uniformity to make all space less than one-sixteenth 
inch one full point, between one-sixteenth and one- 
eighth inch one-half ])oint, and over one-eighth inch cut 
a full point. 

Proportion — In determining the proportion of 
com to cob, it is the usual custom to pick up every 
other ear, making a total of five ears to be weighed. 
After weighing, shell these ears carefully so as not to 
break or injure cob. Then weigh the cobs. Subtract 
from the weight of the five ears ; this will give the 
weight of shelled corn. Divide the weight of shelled 
corn by the weight of the five ears, which will give the 
percentage of shelled corn. 

After the individual samples have been shelled, it 
is advisable to pick out the ten samples scoring the 
highest, lay them side by side and carefully g^o over 
them again in order to get a careful comparative study. 
This will enable the judge to pick out the best sample 
with confidence, and is always much safer than to trust 
to the individual scoring. In fact, it is true that the 
expert judge soon learns to do away with any hard 
and fast lines in scoring corn. After getting the true 
proportion of the different points, he can naturally 
judge more successfully without the score card than 
when bound down to anv mathematical rules. 



CHAPTER VI 

^■THE conditions of germination are vitality, mois- 
ill ture, heat and oxygen. A judicious handling 
\i^ of the soil in order to supply these conditions 
is necessary for the best germination of the 
seed. The yield of the crop depends upon the ger- 
mination of the seed. By supplying these conditions 
to vital seed, a complete germination resiilting 
in a perfect stand, will be secured. Further, this 
vigorous start in the life of the plant, if unchecked 
by unfavorable circumstances of plant growth, will 
allow the full and complete development of the plant. 
Unfavorable conditions, that is, the supplying of the 
conditions of germination in part, always result in 
slow growth and a stunted plant. 

The kind of preparation for the seedbed will de- 
pend upon the nature of the soil. With a clear under- 
standing of the conditions to be secured and the efifect 
of different treatments upon the soil, the kind of prep- 
aration is simply a matter of judgment. Under this 
division of the subject there are a number of particular 
questions of general importance which will be taken up 
in their respective order. 

Depth of Plowing — The depth to plow varies with 
the nature of the soil, the season of the year and with 
the character of previous crop. In general, a coarse, 
loose, sandy soil should be plowed shallow and a finely 
divided, heavy clay soil deep. The loose soil needs 
packing in order to furnish the conditions of germina- 
tion, while the heavy soil must be opened up to the 
action of the atmosphere and sun. 



84 THE BOOK OF CORN 

The plant food in the soil is liherated for the use 
by the plants through the agency of soil organisms 
and chemical action. The organisms require oxygen 
in their process of development. Therefore the air 
must circulate freely in the soil in order that these 
organisms may carry on their work. In the germina- 
tion of the seed, oxygen is absolutely necessary, so that 
air nuist be present for the first process of germination 
to begin. For instance, it frequently happens that 
directly after the planting on a clay soil, a heavy dash- 
ing rain packs the surface soil so that little air can 
enter. The seed will germinate very imperfectly even 
though the other conditions of germination be fully 
supplied. 

It is never advisable, even in the heavy clay soils, 
to greatly vary the depth of plowing in any one season. 
If the soil has been turned to a certain depth during its 
previous cultivation, and then some one season it is 
plowed several inches deeper than ordinary, a layer of 
cold soil will be turned up for the young plants to feed 
upon, if this is done in the fall the action of the 
weather in freezing and thawing corrects the mechani- 
cal condition and puts the plant food in usable form 
before a crop is grown. However, if this deep plowing 
is done in the spring, the young plants are unable to 
use the plant food in this layer of soil and are con- 
sequently checked in their growth. This frequently 
results in an almost complete failure of the crop. 

This is illustrated in the history of the cultivation 
of the sugar beet in Illinois. Before the culture of the 
crop was thoroughly understood, it was thought neces- 
sary to plow very deep in order to furnish a loose seed- 
bed. As a result, most of the fields were plowed several 
inches deeper llian ordinary. The seed was planted in 
this layer of cold soil and the young ])lants attempted 
to secure nourishment from this source. As this soil 



PREPARING THE SEEDBED 



8: 




was not in condition to furnish the plant food, the 
beets were stunted and the crops on rich fields were a 
failure and a loss to the farmers. The next year beets 
planted on these fields, plowed to the same depth as the 
previous year, produced paying- crops. 

As a rule, spring plozving should not be deeper 
than previous plowings, or if so, the change in depth 

from year to year 
should be gradual, 
not more than an 
inch or so in any 
one year. Of 
course, this prac- 
tice will vary with 
the texture of the 
soil. A lighter soil 
may be plowed 
deeper or shallower 
from year to year 
than a heavier soil. 
The time of plow- 
ing will determine 
to a considerable 
extent the depth. 
Fall plowing can 
be deep without 
danger of injury 
to the crop. This 
is particularly true 
in the colder climates, where the soil is frozen deeply 
during the winter. 

Freezing mellows the soil, and by allowing the air 
to circulate between the soil particles, the plant food is 
put in usable form. The practice of deep fall plowing 
is particularly beneficial upon the heavier soils, as it 
increases the depth of the seedbed and consequent 



Fig 25— Homemade Land Roller 

An effective but simple homemade land roller 
is here shown. Cover cast-iron mower wheels 
with 2x4*8 any suitable length, seven feet a g'ood 
size. The projections from the surface of the 
wheels can be first removed with a heavy ham- 
mer and cold chisel. Have blacksmith drill the 
holes, one every four inches on alternate edges 
of the wheel, for half inch bolts. Holt the jour- 
nal boxes under the frame and use set screws in 
hubs. Make the frame of 4x4 stuff. Cuttenons 
in end pieces to fit mortises in front and back, 
and cut mortises in end pieces eight inches from 
shoulder of tenon for the second front and back 
pieces. These second pieces make the frame 
rigid, if properlv put together. Notch the 
tongue one inch where it crosses frames and 
brace with heavy iron straps. A seat can be 
attached by bolting on two light wagon wheel 
rims. 



86 THE BOOK OF CORN 

amount of plant food available for the fjrowth of the 
crop. Tf a heavy crop of stalks or manure is to be. 
turned under it should be done in the fall or early w^in- 
ter and dee])ly enoug"h to cover the crop completely. If 
done in the fall the manure or crop of stalks will be 
decomposed by spring- so that a disking- will firm the 
soil, readjust capillarity and put the seedbed in admi- 
rable form for plant growth. 

FALL OR SPRING PLOWING * 

Whether to plow in the fall or the spring will 
depend lari^ely upon : i, the condition of the soil ; 2, the 
lay of the land; and 3, the kind of previous crop. If 
the soil is subject to washing and the climate is such 
that the fields are exposed during a large part of the 
winter unprotected by snow, fall plowing is apt to be 
detrimental. If the land is level, and particularly if 
infested with insect enemies such as the grub worm, 
corn-root worm, noxious weed seeds, fall plowing is 
usually very beneficial, if properly handled in the 
spring. Of course, if a manure crop is grown on the 
land, or if any trash or straw remains in the soil, it 
should be plowed under in the late fall. 

Many of the harmful insects which infest the corn 
fields live over the winter safely housed in the soil. By 
fall plowing their homes are broken up. the insect 
forms are thrown upon the surface of the soil, where 
they are subject to the winter weather, and most of 
them are thus destroyed. So in the case of noxious 
weed seeds which are brought to the surface by fall 
plowing. The vitality is weakened or lost by the freez- 
ing and thawing, and if the vitality is not impaired by 
such means the weeds are placed where they germinate 
the first thing in the spring, to be destroyed by the 
early disking and cultivating of the seedbed. 



PREPARING THE SEEDBED 87 

As the soil organisms which hberate the plant food 
do not work during- the winter in the cold soil, there is 
probably little plant food lost by evaporation into the 
atmosphere or leaching through the soil. It has come 
to be a common practice among the best corn farmers 
where large areas are cultivated, to fall plow all of the 
land possible, so that a large amount of land can be 
quickly planted in spring. In such cases the soil is 
mellowed through the action of the weather and with a 
disking, the top and bottom of the seedbed are put into 
ideal condition for the reception of the seed. 

Fitting Spring Plowing for Seedbed — In the case 
of spring plowing very great progress has been made 
in the last few years in the methods of handling the 
soil in order to get the best results. Briefly the most 
important points are as follows : immediately after 
plowing the soil should be floated. This should be done 
at the end of every day's work. A convenient and very 
successful float can be made by splitting an eight or 
ten-inch pole twelve feet long. Place the halves two 
feet apart as split and mortise so that they will be held 
firmly in p4ace. Arrange a box for weight about the 
middle of the float and weight as heavily as found de- 
sirable. A longer float for two horses can be made in 
the same manner and the driver can stand on the float. 
The ordinary plank drags are also used successfully 
for this purpose. By running the float over the surface 
of the ground the clods are easily crushed and the top 
of the seedbed fined so as to make a perfect mulch. 
This mulch will prevent the excessive evaporation of 
water and still allow a free circulation of air. 

Disking — When the fields of either spring or fall 
plowing are ready to be planted, disking will loosen 
and stir the soil, allowing the excess of air to escape, 
and the seedbed to warm up to the point required for 
best germination. This point is about 70° F. This 



88 



THE BOOK or CORX 



cultivation also firms the bottom of the furrow so that 
capillarity will furnish the necessary moisture for ger- 
mination. No more important point in the preparation 
of the seedbed can be found. In heavy soils with a ten- 
dency to lumps, the clods are brol<en up by tlic (Hsl<- 
ing and no air space is left to dry out the seedbed and 
injure the roots of the young- corn plants. In loose soil, 
disking packs the soil, making a more complete and 




Fig 26— Direction of Rows of Kernels, Boone County White 

No 329, struig^ht rows; 327, rows turn to riijht ; 32S, rows turn to left. 
See Chapter II 



successful mulch. V>y using an ordinary adjustable 
smoothing liarrow after the disk the seedbed is put in 
the very best conditicMi. 

Subsoi!i}is^ has been recommended by many agri- 
cultural writers as a necessary procedure for prepara- 
tion of the seedbed. A careful distinction must bo put 



PREPARING THE SEEDBED 89 

down between trench plowing^ and subsoiling-. Trench 
plowing is the turning of the bottom of the furrow up 
on top of the seedbed. This is usually done bv a pecu- 
liarly constructed plow following in the furrow of the 
breaking plow. 

Subsoiling is the breaking or loosening up of the 
subsoil without bringing any soil to the surface. This 
is usually done by a subsoil plow following the furrow 
of the breaking plow and simply "rooting," or stirring 
up the subsoil. In the heavier soil it is an advantage. 
The plate in the bottom of the furrow where the plow 
pressed and the horses walked year after year, is 
broken, capillarity re-established and the roots per- 
mitted to penetrate the subsoil. The difficulty is the 
cost of the operation. Even though it be done only 
once in three or four years, the returns are not enough 
larger to justify the outlay on corn soils. 

It was found that leguminous crops, such as 
clover, cowpeas and soy beans, rooted deep in the sub- 
soil. The roots dying and decaying in the soil, allow 
the air to circulate, permit the action of frost and in 
fact act as a complete and successful subsoiler. There- 
fore, owing to the value of these crops as soil fertilizers 
and as foods, they have come into general use as 
subsoilers. 

Ploivitig under stalks, straw or manure crops has 
come to be necessary to the successful culture of corn. 
In the days of the first cultivation of prairie and other 
rich soils, the fertility was abundant. Humus was 
plentiful and it was not necessary to look to the con- 
servation of soil fertility or to the mechanical texture 
of the soil. As a result of these conditions stalks were 
burned, and corn grown year after year on the same 
fields, as the most profitable rotation of crops. This 
condition does not exist now. Soils that were thought 
to be inexhaustible in fertility produce less and less, 



90 THE HOOK OF CORN 

until the returns are no lonj^er ])rofitable. Hence it has 
become necessary to consider the waste of soil fertility 
in corn culture and to conserve this plant food care- 
fully for future crops. 

A large amount of fertility is lost through burning 
stalks and straw. The important element in this mate- 
rial for plant food, nitrogen, is lost in burning. The 
other two valuable elements, phosphorus and potash, 
are left in such shape that they are easily washed away, 
dissipated and lost. The remedy for this condition is 
to plow under all stalks and straw. In the case of corn- 
stalks, where they have been pastured off during the 
winter, they can be easily harrowed down and plowed 
under. This can be accomplished successfully by hitch- 
ing one horse to a section of a harrow behind the plow. 
If the stalks are very heavy, they can be cut with stalk 
cutters, the plow provided with a rolling coulter or 
jointer and the rows of stalks easily turned under. 
Another successful plan is to disk the field of corn- 
stalks. This plan will cut up the stalks and permit 
their being plowed under successfully. 

In plowing under fertilizing crops which have been 
sowed in the corn at the lime of the last cultivation, 
such as cowpeas or soy beans, or have been sowed 
after oats have been harvested, it is desirable to do this 
as early in the fall as possible. The longer they have 
been turned under previous to freezing weather, the 
more complete the decomposition and decay by the 
time the crop needs the fertility. One advantage of 
such a fertilizing crop is that after the corn has ceased 
growing or after the oats have been harvested, the soil 
fertility is being continually liberated by the action of 
the soil organisms during warm weather. These crops 
coming on at this time take up this fertility, which 
might otherwise be dissipated into the atmosphere or 
leached out bv rains. Thev hold it luitil thev are 



PREPARING THE SEEDBED 9I 

plowed under, when through decomposition they give 
it up for the use of the succeeding crops. In the case of 
leguminous manure crops, there is a valuable addition 
of nitrogen to the soil directly through the action of 
the organisms forming the tubercles on the roots of 
such plants. 

Time of Plozving — One of the points in the prep- 
aration of the seedbed above all others is to plow the 
ground when it is in proper condition. If a heavy soil 
and too wet, it runs together, and when the seedbed 
dries out and bakes, is injurious to the roots of the corn 
plant, and will not retain soil moisture. The more 
finely divided the soil the more moisture it is capable cf 
conserving. If the seedbed is caked by wet plowing, 
only a small amount of the plant food can be used by 
the plants, and not enough moisture will be retained for 
the growth of the crop. As a result, when the soil is 
too dry and breaks up in clods and large lumps, a great 
amount of preparation is needed to get such a field into 
condition for planting and by the time such cultivation 
is finished the tilth of the seedbed will have been 
destroyed. There is usually a time in every season 
when plowing will leave the field in splendid condition, 
and it is important to wait until that time, as it always 
results in a saving of time and money and a better pre- 
pared seedbed. 



CHAPTER VII 

3FprJiiug t\}t ^lant 

^^IIE corn crop thrives well on a wide variety 
ifl of soils, ranging^ from a light sand to a heavy 
\t^ clay. A typical soil for the crop may be 
described as a medium loam, well supplied 
with vej^^etable matter, and overlying a subsoil of 
good texture. The chief needs for the crop are 
an abundance of moisture and of available plant 
food during the season of its growth. The fact 
that the average yield for the United States is reported 
as only about twenty-five bushels per acre, shows that 
notwithstanding the very high yields that are obtained 
under perfect conditions, there is a large area grown 
imdcr conditions which are so imperfect as to result in 
a small and generally unpi-ofitable yield, and in many 
cases, particularly in the eastern and southern states, 
this is due to a lack of available food during the season 
of growth. This need of food is due to two causes, 
first, the impoverished character of the soil, both nat- 
ural and artificial, the latter due to long years of crop- 
ping, without adequate return of manure : and second, 
to improper methods of management. That a large 
crop cannot be grown on a very poor soil is clearly 
indicated by the composition of the plant. A crop of 
fifty bushels of shelled corn per acre, with the accom- 
panying stalks, will remove from the soil, on the aver- 
age : Nitrogen, eighty pounds ; phosphoric acid, twenty- 
nine pounds : potash, fifty-five pounds. 

From the standpoint of the removal of the fertility 
elements, therefore, it is an exhaustive crop; neverthe- 
less, because of the period of growth, and because of 



FEEDING THE PLANT 93 

its ameliorating- and renovating- character, its growth 
really results in reducing immediate fertility much less 
than would a crop containing the same amount of con- 
stituents grown at a different season and without cul- 
tivation. Still, in order that the food required by a 
crop of this size may be obtained, it is essential that on 
land of good natural fertility, it shall be well prepared 
and managed, and that poorer soils shall receive a 
judicious application of manures. 

THE NATURAL CHARACTER OF SOIL A GUIDE AS TO THE 
NEEDS OF THE PLANT 

The natural character of the soil is a guide to 
some extent in determining whether the crop can be 
successfully grown without added fertility. A large 
crop cannot be expected on a light, sandy soil, naturally 
deficient in potash, unless that particular element is 
applied, because the analysis of the crop shows that 
this constituent is required in relatively large amounts. 
The same is true of nitrogen ; a sandy soil is naturally 
deficient in this element, and a large crop could not be 
expected without the direct addition of fertilizers con- 
taining nitrogen, or the introduction of this element 
indirectly in the form of green manures from legumi- 
nous crops. Still a good corn crop can be grown on 
such soils with a smaller quantity of both nitrogen and 
potash than could a crop of a different class, which 
makes its maximum growth at a different season. 

Corn Plant a Good Forager — The corn crop is, in 
the first place, a good forager, due to the vigor of the 
crop itself, extracting- food unavailable to less vigorous 
growers ; in the second place, it has an advantage over 
many cereal crops in the season of its growth, namely, 
the summer, when the natural agencies, sun. air and 
water, are most active in causing insoluble materials 



04 THE BOOK OF CORN 

to become more rapidly available ; and in tbc tbird 
place, the cultivation assists materially in unlockini^ 
and providing;" food otherwise unavailable. 

It must be remembered, too, that owing- to the 
widely varying conditions of soil and climate in those 
states in which corn can be grown, the requirements 
in reference to manures may also vary widely even on 
the same character of soil. In the more northern sec- 
tions, where the season is short, a relatively greater 
abundance of available food in the soil is required than 
would be the case in the more southern sections, where 
the season of growth is much longer, or in the middle 
western sections, where the period of hot, bright, grow- 
ing weather is longer. 

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS : THEIR CHARACTER AND 
FUNCTIONS 

With these general considerations concerning the 
crop, and its characteristics, arises the special question 
of its feeding, and, in order that a proper understand- 
ing of the subject may be obtained, it is necessary to 
discuss the question of manures and their functions 
in some detail. 

IVhat Is a Manure f — In the first place, a manure 
in the broad sense may be regarded as a substance that 
will cause an increase in crop. Still, this is indefinite. 
The idea that shoidd be conveyed by the term "manure" 
is that it shall contain those constituents that are liable 
to exist in soils in minimum amounts, and v.'hich are 
carried away in maximum amounts by the crops re- 
moved. These essential constituents are usually lim- 
ited to three, namely, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and 
potash. The term "essential" does not mean that they 
are more essential to the growth of the plant than 
others required b}' it, like lime, iron, sulphur, etc, but 



FEEDING THE PLANT 95 

that they are more essential than the others in manures, 
which are usually present in ^q-reat abunrlance in most 
soils, and their addition would not contribute to actual 
fertility. 

In the second place, certain substances containing- 
these constituents have both a direct and indirect ferti- 
lizing effect, that is, they add to tlie constituents in the 
soil, as well as change and make available the otherwise 
unavailable constituents already in the soil, while others 
are only direct in their effect, and still others indirect. 
The natural products, as farm manures and wastes of 
various sources, belong to the first class, namely, those 
which possess a direct and an indirect value. 

This indirect effect is often of great service, chiefly 
in changing- the physical character of the soil in such a 
way as to enable the natural agencies to act more 
effectively. As, for example, on a heavy, compact soil, 
which does not freely permit the entrance of air and 
moisture, the addition of the vegetable matter con- 
tained in farm manure would have the effect of opening 
up and separating the particles, thus making the soil 
more porous and permitting the free access of air and 
water, and consequently greater and more rapid 
changes, which contribute indirectly to an increase in 
crop. On a sandy soil, on the other hand, the addition 
of manures of this character would also improve be- 
cause making the soil less open and porous, drawing 
the particles of soil together and making it more com- 
pact, thus preventing the rapid drying out of the soil, 
and the rapid leaching from it of the soluble con- 
stituents. 

Direct Manures — To the second class, or to the 
direct manures, belong the artificial products, which 
are valuable chiefly because they contain the constituent 
elements, nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash, which 
contribute directly to the potential fertilitv of the soil. 



96 THE nnOK OF CORN 

or, in other words, these products contain those con- 
stituents which are hkely to be deficient, and are vahi- 
able mainly for this reason. 

In the third place, it must be remembered that 
manures, both direct and indirect, differ in respect to 
the character of the constituents that are contained in 
them. The plant can obtain its food only in a soluble 
form, and all materials containinq- plant food in an 
insoluble form must chang-e to the soluble state, and 
the different materials containing- these constituents 
differ widely in the rate at which they chani^e from an 
insoluble form to a soluble and available one, even 
when used under the same conditions of soil and cli- 
mate. Those materials containing constituents that are 
soluble are in most cases called immediately available, 
and those containing them in an insoluble stave vary in 
their value according to the rate at which they will 
change from an insoluble to a soluble form under the 
average conditions of soil, season and climate. 

In the farm manures, for example, the solid por- 
tion contains the chief constituents, nitrogen, phos- 
phoric acid, in an insoluble form, while the liquid por- 
tion contains them in a more soluble state, and experi- 
ments have demonstrated that the nitrogen, particularly 
in the liquid portion, is more easily obtained by the 
plants than that in the solid. Of the same amount of 
nitrogen in the solid and the solid and liquid portions 
combined, the immediate crop will use three times as 
much of the latter as of the former. It is, therefore, 
not altogether a question of manure, but of the quality 
of the constituents contained in it. The same principle 
is true in regard to the nitrogen in the different arti- 
ficial products — there is a wide range of availabilit3\ 
Nitrate of soda contains it in its most soluble and avail- 
able form, and the returns from a unit of nitrate nitro- 



FEEDING THE PI.ANT 97 

gen, other things being equal, will generally be greater 
than from other forms. 

These considerations apply to all of the constitu- 
ents, though more particularly to nitrogen and phos- 
phoric acid. The insoluble form of phosphoric acid, 
for example, must change to the "reverted," or soluble 
form, before the plant can use it ; great care should, 
therefore, be exercised in the use of the insoluble. That 
form which will be most likely to change quickly 
should be selected, though there are conditions where 
insoluble forms are quite as useful as 'those more 
quickly available, owing to the differences that occur in 
soils and crops and in their periods of growth. 

WHAT SHALL BE USED 

Naturally, the first question the thoughtful man 
asks is, "What shall I apply, nitrogen, phosphoric acid 
or potash, or all, and in what form?" The question can- 
not be answered in a categorical way. The answer will 
depend upon the conditions that exist. In many in- 
stances one element only may be deficient in the soil ; 
in others two, and in still others all three may be re- 
quired. Positive and helpful information on these 
points cannot be obtained except by actual experiment. 
Still, much very useful information mav be given the 
practical man who is unable to make these experiments 
for himself, and it is based upon a knowledge of the 
original character of the soil, the kind of croppinsr that 
has been practiced, the rotation, and the methods of 
management adopted. 

As already indicated, soils differ widely in their 
composition. The poorest are those made up chiefly of 
sand, which can. from the nature of the substances 
composing it, contain but small quantities of plant 
food ; the best, those which are admixtures of sand, 



98 THE BOOK OF CORN 

clay, lime and vci^ctable matter, and which contain in 
themselves naturally such an abundance of plant food 
as to supply the needs of plants for very lonq- periods. 
As a broad j^eneral rule, therefore, sandy soils are 
deficient in practically all of the constituent elements, 
while peaty soils are deficient in the mineral elements. 
The various clay soils are usually rich in potash, shale 
and limestone soils are rich in lime and phosphoric acid, 
and alluvial soils rich in all the plant food elements. 

Guides in Use of Plant Food — The previous crop- 
p'm^ also is a reasonable guide as to the probable 
necessities of the plant. If, for example, wdieat or corn 
or hay, or any one crop has been g^rown continuously 
for a lonj^ time, and no manure has been returned, then 
the chances are that in order to continue their g-rowth 
on soils not naturally very rich, all of the constituents 
will be reciuired, as the crop will remove the same con- 
stituents in the same proportion year after year, thus 
reducing very rapidly the store of active fertility. If, 
on the other hand, crops have been grown in rotation 
which take from the soil the constituents in different 
amounts and proportions, and also introduce by their 
roots and stubble considerable vegetable matter, the 
apparent exhaustion will be extended, and the applica- 
tion of one or two of the constituents will meet 
the needs. 

In the next place, the character of the crop, and 
the period in which it makes its most rapid growth, 
will guide as to the application required. If the period 
of growth is short, a greater abundance of available 
food will be required than if the growth extends 
through a long period. The food requirements for 
particular seasons are also important if the maximum 
growth is in the very early sea.son, as .A.pril and INfay, 
as is the case with wheat, and the grasses — a larger 
amount of nitrogen will be required than for a crop 



FEEDING THE PLANT 



99 



which makes its most rapid growth during the summer 
season, June, July and August. The conditions are 
not favorable in the early spring months for the change 
of organic nitrogenous matter in the soil into nitrates, 
whereas during the hot summer months the conditions 
are extremely favorable for the change. 

Hence, upon soils containing, a reasonable amount 
of vegetable matter, the application of nitrogen to 
wheat and grass might result in a very large increase, 
whereas its application to a corn crop might not be 




Fig 27— Corn Crib on Scales 

At Iowa experiment station 

followed by a considerable increase, because in the first 
case the conditions make it needful that the crop shall 
have an abundance of nitrogen, and in the second case 
the conditions favor the change of the nitrogen already 
in the soil into an available form. So it is that on the 
same soil, one crop might be benefited by the applica- 
tion of nitrogen, while for another the application of 
nitrogen would not be likely to cause a profitable in- 
crease in yield. The crop grown, too, and its period 
of growth, determine to some extent the form, as well 
as the kind, of element that should be applied. 



L.orC. 



lOO THE BOOK OF CORN 

In the case of wheat and grass, an application of 
organic nitrogen in slowly available forms would not 
result in an increase in crop, because the conditions 
that are not favorable to the change of the nitrogenous 
material in the soil would apply just the same to those 
applied, and the result would be that the plant could 
not obtain it. Henqe for those crops the nitrogen 
should be in a soluble and active form, so that it may 
be readily distributed and that the crop may obtain it 
at once. Whereas, in the case of corn grown upon land 
deficient in nitrogen, organic forms, which are likely 
to change rapidly, owing to the favorable conditions, 
would be likely to be quite as useful as the soluble and 
immediately available forms, because these might be 
carried away from the plant by the rains that are 
usually abundant during this season. 

From these considerations, it will be observed that 
no positive and definite rules can be given as to the 
kind and amount of application, but only broad, general 
rules, which must be interpreted by the farmer himself 
for his peculiar conditions. 

RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS 

The experiment stations of the country, particu- 
larly those of the eastern and southern states, have 
carried out experiments to determine the fertility needs 
of different soils and crops. Widely varying results 
have been obtained, chiefly for the reasons already out- 
lined. In a broad general way. the results in the east- 
ern states show that of the minerals, potash seems to 
be needed especially for corn, while in the southern 
states phosphoric acid is the chief constituent lackine, 
though upon lands naturallv poor, the addition of all 
of the constituents is required, if maximum crops are 
obtained. 



FEEDING THE PLANT 



lOI 



Still, the results, broadly interpreted, show that 
with the exception of limited areas of special character, 
the lands of the east and south, which have been culti- 
vated for a long time, are benefited by the addition of 
fertilizers, and in most instances all the constituents 
are required. This is a safe assumption, where no 
specific information derived from experiments is avail- 
able, because we have not yet attained maximum yields 




Fig 28— Modern Com Crib 

At Minnesota experiment station 



in these states under natural conditions. The experi- 
ments also show that it is a question of applied plant 
food, not only, but also of its systematic and intellig-ent 
use. The "hit or miss" system in the application of 
fertilizers or manures is not a good one. 

Classification of Crops — Tt has also been clearly 
demonstrated, in addition, that there is a proper rela- 
tion between the cost of the material applied and the 



I02 THE BOOK OF CORN 

value of the crop obtained, which must be observed in 
the profitable use of materials. Crops are, in respect 
to fertilizers, divided into two g-eneral classes, first, 
those which possess a hi^^h fertility value and a low 
commercial value, and second, those which possess a 
low fertility value and a high commercial value. 

To the first class belonj^ the cereals and to the 
second class vegetables and fruit crops, hence in the 
application of manures or fertilizers to the first class, 
greater care must be exercised in order to obtain a 
profit, because the financial return per vmit of applica- 
tion is much less in the first than in the second class. 
That it can be done profitably has been shown by many 
experiments and by practice, provided all the consid- 
erations underlying are carefully observed, for, as 
already pointed out, crops differ in respect to their 
need of added food, due both to their specific rct|uirc- 
ments and their period of growth. Hence in a rotation 
of crops the application may be adjusted in such a way 
as to reduce the cost of ajiplication to a minimum, 
while at the same time encouraging a maximum 
growth. 

//; a)iy rotation of the first class of crops which 
may be adopted, whether (i) corn, (2) corn, barley, 
wheat and hay, (3) corn, beans, wheat and hay, oats, 
wheat and hay, (4) corn, wheat or rye and hay, (5) 
corn and cotton, (6) tobacco and cotton, or others 
which are used, a careful observation of the principle 
that different crops require dift'erent kinds and propor- 
tions of food, because of dift'erences in their power of 
acquiring food, and their season of growth, should re- 
sult in the application of those constituents that are 
specifically needed for the particular crop, which will 
contribute to its increase and leave a residue for the 
succeeding crop. By this method there would result 
from a systematic application of manures and ferti- 



FEEDING THE PLANT IO3 

lizers, in a rotation, a profitable increase in crop, and a 
constant increase in "condition" of soil. 

FERTILIZERS FOR FIELD CORN 

In view of the character of the crop, and the sea- 
son of its growth, there is no cereal crop which will 
utilize to better advantage the coarser yard manure of 
the farm. The crop is a gross feeder, besides the sea- 
son of growth and cultivation are favorable for the 
decomposition of the manure. Too many farmers 
allow the manure made in winter to lie in the open 
yard until fall for application to wheat, thus losing 
much of its value, besides getting no return from it 
until the next season, when the wheat is sold. It is a 
good practice for the eastern and middle states, there- 
fore, to apply manure broadcast in the late fall, winter 
or early spring, at the rate of from six to eight tons 
per acre ; by this method the soluble portions are 
well distributed and are absorbed by the soil before 
plowing. 

If the corn is planted on sod land, then the nitro- 
gen contained in the manure and in the organic matter 
in the roots and stubble should be sufficient upon ordi- 
narily good land to supply all the needed requirements 
for this element. If the land has been heavily cropped, 
or the purpose is, as it should be, to obtain a maximum 
yield, then the possible deficiency of minerals in the 
manures should be made good by an application of two 
hundred and fifty pounds per acre of a mixture made 
up of: 

MIXTURE NO I 

Ground bone 250 pounds 

Acid phosphate 500 pounds 

Muriate of potash 250 pounds 

In this tnixture a part of the phosphoric acid is 
in a soluble form, and will supply the early needs of 



104 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the crop ; the remainder is in the form of groimd bone, 
which will decay rapidly enough to supply the demands 
of the latter growth^ and the portion not used will con- 
tribute to the potential fertility. The potash may be 
in the form of muriate, as it is distributed readily, is 
cheap, and does not contain substances which would 
make it unsafe to apply in the drill in the quantities 
here given, and may, therefore, be added in the row 
with the planter, though on heavy lands the minerals 
would better be applied broadcast and harrowed in, 
since the use of muriate of potash results in a loss of 
lime ; if it is continued, the land should be limed at the 
rate of twenty-five bushels per acre, once in five or eight 
years, on the sod the year previous to planting. Lime 
is also useful in aiding in the decomposition of vege- 
table matter, in setting free phosphoric acid and 
potash, and in neutralizing any acidity of soil. 

The constituents furnished by the manure and the 
mixture are sufficient for a good crop, without de- 
pendence upon soil supplies, if all could be obtained, 
but this is not usually the case, because absolutely per- 
fect distribution cannot be expected, and besides con- 
ditions of season are not always so perfect as to per- 
mit a continuous feeding throughout the entire grow- 
ing season. In an average season, however, a large 
increase in yield should be obtained, and a considerable 
residue of fertility left for subsequent crops. On light, 
sandy soils, the mixture should also contain nitrogen 
in addition to that added in the manures, both to give 
the plant an early start and to aid in the feeding 
throughout the season. A brand well adapted for sup- 
plementing yard manure on sandy soils may contain 
ammonia two per cent, available phosphoric acid eight 
])er cent, and potash ten per cent, and which may be 
made up of: 



FEEDING THE PLANT IO5 

MIXTURE NO 2 

Cottonseed meal, or dried ground fish 200 pounds 

Acid phosphate 600 pounds 

Muriate of potash 200 pounds 

An application of from three hundred to five hun- 
dred pounds per acre of this mixture would be sufficient 
under average conditions. In the more northern re- 
gions, where the season is shorter, larger applications, 
and in the more southern sections, where the season is 
longer, small quantities of the fertilizer mixture would 
answer where the physical conditions of soil are good. 

It must be remembered that the better the physical 
and mechanical character of the soil, the greater will 
be the absorption by the plant per unit of food applied. 
That is, a better distribution of the fertilizer would 
occur, and the agencies which assist in solution would 
on such soils have a better opportunity for action. 

Moderate Quantities Often Sntficient — Large 
quantities of fertilizer are not recommended for corn 
under average conditions ; an application of a medium 
amount would be more likely to result in a profit. 
Where farm manure is not available, and entire depend- 
ence is placed upon purchased supplies, or where raw 
ground instead of sod is used, mixtures containing 
larger proportions of nitrogen and heavier applications 
are required. A brand containing nitrogen four per 
cent, phosphoric acid (available) eight per cent, and 
potash eight per cent, applied at the rate of five hundred 
pounds per acre, should supply the needed constitu- 
ents in good forms and proportions. Part of this ap- 
plication may be made broadcast and harrowed in, the 
remainder, say one-half, applied in the drill at time 
of planting. 

It is a good plan to apply the materials broadcast 
wherever possible, and in lieu of the recommendations 
made, three hundred and fifty pounds per acre of mix- 



IC6 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ture No i may be used, applied broadcast, in connec- 
tion with a compost, appHed in the hill. This would 
be particularly advantat^eous on heavy, clayey soils, as 
it is desirable there to have minerals well d.istributed 
and to encourage the early growth of the corn by sub- 
stances rich in organic mr.tter, applied in the hill. This 
compost may be made up largely of fine cov/ or horse 
manure, fortified by the addition of ground fish, dried 
blood or cottonseed meal. The addition of three hun-i 
dred pounds of dried blood, or five hundred pounds oT 
ground fish or cottonseed meal, to a ton of dry com- 
posted manure, would be excellent for this purpose, 
and make a relatively cheap compost. 

In the southern states, there is probably no better 
and cheaper, and, therefore, no more satisfactory form 
of organic nitrogen, all things considered, than cotton- 
seed meal, and in Georgia particularly, where a careful 
study of the matter has been made, the following for- 
mula is recommended for well improved upland soil, or 
bottom lands : 

Cottonseed meal 870 pounds 

Acid phosphate 1000 pounds 

Muriate of potash 30 pounds 

and for wornout upland soils : 

Cottonseed meal lOOO pounds 

Acid phosphate 1250 pounds 

Muriate of potash 30 pounds 

The chief need of these soils is for nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid, and an application of from two hun- 
dred and fifty to four hundred pounds per acre has 
been found the most economical. These recommenda- 
tions will probably apply to the upland and bottom 
lands of the southern coast states, whereas for the 
sandy lands, a larger proportion of potash is needed ; 
in Kentucky and Tennessee, potash has been shown to 
be a very important ingredient in fertilizers for corn. 



FEEDING THE PLANT lO/ 

FOR FORAGE AND SILAGE CORN 

In the growing of field corn, the main object is to 
obtain the greatest yield of grain, whereas in the case 
of forage, when used green or for silage, a larger pro- 
portion of stalk and leaf is desirable ; besides it is advis- 
able when possible to obtain a food richer in protein, 
and a thicker planting and an abundance of nitrogen 
in the manures contribute to this end. Hence, while 
the recommendations already made for field corn may 
be followed in respect to the kind of materials for 
silage corn, larger applications are desirable. On good 
soils apply ten tons of good manure to supplv the or- 
ganic nitrogen and part of the mineral constituents, 
and from three hundred to four hundred pounds of 
mixture No i. 

Briefly stated, then, for silage corn, apply broad- 
cast previous to plowing, ten to twelve tons of good 
yard manure, and either broadcast or in the row at time 
of planting, three hundred and fifty to four hundred 
pounds of mixture No i. On poor soils, the manure 
need not be increased, but the amount of fertilizer 
added and the proportion of nitrogen should be. The 
same recommendations that are made for different 
localities may be followed, as in the case of field corn. 

Where a leguminous crop like crimson clover is 
used as a catch crop, a continuous growing of corn is 
entirely practicable, though the fertilization should be 
very different from that recommended when either a 
sod land or raw ground is used. This system is well 
adapted for the middle and northermost of the gulf 
states. For the more southern and central states, and 
those of the middle west, such crops as cowpeas or soy 
beans may be grown to much better advantage as green 
manure. In any case, whatever crop is grown, pro- 
vided it is a leguminous crop, the practice in reference 



Io8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

to fertilizers should not be far different, and should 
consist mainly of the applications of the minerals, the 
nitrog^en gathered by the legumes furnishing vegetable 
matter containing nitrogen, which would be readily 
acquired by the corn plant. 

A practice that has given very excellent satisfac- 
tion upon naturally good soils in the middle states is as 
follows : Seed the crimson clover in the corn usually 
in July, at the last cultivation, plow in spring, when 
the clover is beginning to head, or before it has made 
its maximum growth, in order that all of the crop may 
be turned under before it has absorbed too much of the 
surface moisture. Roll immediately, in order to com- 
pact the soil, and thoroughly and deeply cultivate the 
surface, and at time of planting apply two hundred and 
fifty pounds per acre of a mixture made up of : 

Acid phosphate 150 pounds 

Muriate of potash 50 pounds 

Where the soils are poorer, or where the physical 
condition is not good, then a larger application of the 
minerals should be made, preferably broadcast and 
harrowed in. The application then may consist of 
four hundred pounds per acre of the mixture recom- 
mended. On very poor soils, where the leguminous 
crop does not grow vigorously, a larger application of 
this mixture may be made, say five hundred pounds 
per acre, and at planting, accompanied by the top- 
dressing of compost, already suggested. This practice 
may be continued from year to year, and should result 
in continuously increasing the fertility of the soil, as 
the minerals applied and the nitrogen gathered would 
be more than sufficient to supply the needs of a 
large crop. 

The one element of danger in the use of green 
manures, particularly crimson clover, is that the farmer 



FEEDING THE PLANT IO9 

will not plow down early enough, and should hot, dry 
weather follow, the young- corn plant will not be able 
to obtain sufficient moisture ; the mass of organic vege- 
table matter plowed down prevents the water connec- 
tion between the surface and subsoil, the surface thus 
becomes so dry as to injure the crop. Should the 
weather be very warm and moist, then the very rapid 
fermentation of so large a mass of vegetable matter 
may also be injurious. 

In any case, or all cases, however, injury of this 
character may be obviated by the occasional dressing 
with lime, and where considerable amounts of vege- 
table matter are added, either directly as farm manure, 
or indirectly, as green manure, it is a very desirable 
practice, as already pointed out, to lime at least once in 
five or eight years, at the rate of twenty to twenty-five 
bushels per acre ; the lime neutralizing the acidity de- 
veloped by the too rapid fermentation of the vegetable 
matter, besides encouraging the development and 
growth of bacteria, whose influence in improving soil 
conditions is very marked. In case of crops like cow- 
peas, which make their growth in the season preceding 
the planting, injury to soil is not to be feared. 

MANURES FOR SWEET CORN 

The growing of sweet corn for the market is a 
very considerable industry in many states, and its 
proper fertilization is an important matter. The most 
profitable crops, as a rule, are those that are grown 
early. Hence, the fertilization should be such as to en- 
courage a very rapid early growth. That is, corn should 
be ready for market from a month to six wrecks earlier 
than is the case where planted at the usual time, and 
grown under ordinary conditions. It is necessary, there- 
fore, that the plant should have an abundance, not only 



no THE BOOK OF CORN 

of all food constituents, but that they shall be of a 
highly available character. 

The mineral elements may be derived from the 
same source as those recommended for field and forage 
corn. The nitrogen should be obtained from quick- 
acting materials, and preferably in organic forms, 
though part may be obtained from nitrate of soda. An 
application of five hundred to eight hundred pounds 
per acre of a mixture showing: nitrogen four per cent, 
phos])horic acid (available) six per cent, and potash 
eight per cent would furnish on most soils suitable for 
the crop a sufficient abundance of the constituents. For 
the central and eastern conditions of climate, one-third 
at least of the nitrogen may be in the form of nitrate 
of soda or sulphate of ammonia, the remainder in or- 
ganic forms, as dried blood, dried fish, cottonseed meal, 
etc ; for the southern conditions, all of the nitrogen may 
be derived from cottonseed meal, though vvhere this 
material is the entire source of nitrogen, a larger appli- 
cation should be made. Sweet com may be regarded 
as a crop belonging to the second class, or possessing a 
high commercial value, and, therefore, much larger 
applications can be afifordcd than in the case of the 
field corn. 

Tn all of these recommendations care has been 
exercised in the suggestions to keep well within prac- 
tical limits. The principles are well defined ; it rests 
with the farmer intelligently to apply them to his con- 
ditions. Corn growing can be made profitable by the 
judicious use of fertilizers, in a reasonable rotation, 
and in connection with the proper saving and using of 
manures. 



CHAPTER VIII 

planting anJi (Eultihattng 

^^HE time for planting corn is after the seedbed 
/ 1 1 has been so prepared as to furnish the con- 
\i^ ditions of germination, and danger from frost 
is passed. There is a decided loss to the 
grower by planting corn under unfavorable conditions 
or by having it cut down by frost. If cut ofif by frost 
the seed will regerminate, but the plant will nevef 
recover its vigor and vitality. Regermination always 
results in a lessened yield. 

Late Planting — If planted too late the plant does 
not have time enough during the growing season to 
mature. Absolute rules for the time of planting for 
all sections of the country are obviously impossible. 
However, there is a time every season which is favor- 
able for planting. It is the business of the farmer to 
have the seedbed prepared in order to take advantage 
of this propitious time. 

The depth of planting varies with the kind of 
soil. In general corn should be planted deeper in 
light, loose, sandy soils than in heavy clay soils. This 
rule holds true, because in order to furnish the required 
amount of moisture for germination it is necessary to 
go deeper in loose soils than in the heavier clay soils. 
Further, it is easier for the plumule to reach the sur- 
face in loose than in heavy soils, as the young plant 
cannot secure any plant food from the air or soil until 
the leaves reach the surface. 

It is necessary to plant shallow so that the seed 
will furnish enough plant food to supply the young 
plants until the leaves reach the atmosphere and the 



112 



THE ROOK OF CORN 



plant can beg-in to use the food in the soil and in the air. 
The loose, sandy soils warm up more quickly than the 
heavier clays, so that in order to j^et the necessary heat 
for the best germination the depth of planting must be 
regulated by the character of the soil. In the loose 
prairie loams of Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska the state 
experiment stations find that two to four inches will 
give the best results. This dei)th will vary with the 
season and the time in the season of planting. 

In an early sea- 
son, or if the 
planting is done 
late in the season, 
after the soil has 
1) e e n thoroughly 
warmed, the corn 
c a n be planted 
(lce])cr than dur- 
ing a late season 
or early in the sea- 
son before the soil 
warms up. Th? 
dc]')th will also 
vary somewhat 
with the size of 
seed. If the seed 
is small, it should 




Fig 29— Effective Corn Marker for Hand 
Planting 

A few farmers still prefer to plant corn hy 
hand, and for these the marker here shown will 
prove helpful. The materials needed are one 
piece of wood, n, ix^, about nine feet long, one 
piece, h, 2x.|, about four feet long, two pieces, 
d d, each two feet long, and two pieces of scant- 
ling, c c, about four feet long, two old plow 
handles, an old pair of buguy shafts, and three 
or four old cultivator shovels. Set the shovels 
the proper distance apart to make rows as re- 
quired. 



be planted shal- 
lower than larger seed. Where small seed has been 
planted deep in the prairie loam soils, only a small pro- 
portion of the plants reached the surface, while large 
seed planted at the same depths all came up. 

The depth of planting must vary with the amount 
of moisture in the soil. If the soil is very moist at the 
time of planting, the seed should be planted more shal- 
low than if the soil is comparatively dry. This is true 



PLANTING AND CULTIVATING II3 

from the fact that it is necessary to go deeper in a dry 
soil in order to secure the moisture for germination, 
and because the dry soils warm up more quickly than 
the moist soils. Seed planted deep in dry soils 
obtain enough heat for germination. It has recently 
been discovered that no matter how deep seeds may be 
planted, the root system develops always at about the 
same depth. That is, the seed planted deep in the soil 
sends up a tube to the ordinary point at which the roots 
develop. At the end of this tube the permanent roots 
branch out and a stem is sent up into the atuiosphere. 
See Fig 32. 

HILLING OR DRILLING 

The practice of hilling or drilling corn will depend 
upon the fertility of the soil, the condition of the field, 
the amount of weeds or weed seeds in the soil, and the 
variety of corn. As a rule it is not advisable to plant 
more than four stalks in a hill, because they will inter- 
fere with each other in plant growth. So then if in a 
very fertile soil it is desirable to plant more kernels 
than this per hill, it is the best practice to plant in drills. 

However, if the field is very weedy it is not 
desirable to plant in drills, because the drilled corn can- 
not be cross-cultivated and the field is likely to grow to 
weeds. If a small variety of corn, more kernels can be 
grown in a hill than a large variety. This is particu- 
larly true if the large variety has a correspondingly 
large amount of foliage. The large plants growing in 
a hill will naturally shade the other plants and interfere 
in their development. On soils that have been plowed 
for the first time, it is sometimes desirable to drill the 
corn. Such fields are usually comparatively free from 
the noxious weeds which seem to follow continued cul- 
tivation. Thev are usually verv fertile and able to 



IT4 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



support more plants than can l)e grown in hills. In 
this case it is good practice to drill in order to use up 
the fertility of the soil which might otherwise be lost in 

the atmosphere or 
through leaching. 
^\'hen corn is 
grown for a soil- 
ing or forage crop 
drilling is desir- 
able. In this case 
cars are not 
sought, but the ob- 
ject is to secure 
the largest possi- 
ble amount of fol- 
iage. This can be 
done by drilling 
the seed closely in 
the rows. 

LISTING CORN 

This method is 
followed with suc- 
cess in some of 
the western states, 
as Kansas, Nebras- 
ka and Minnesota. 
In this case the soil 
is a loose, 5andv 




Fig 30— Homemade Corn Planter 
A very satisfactory corn planter is here 
shown. Make a frame, <-/, like a wheelbarrow 
frame and three inches lonjjer than the pan used. 
Take a tin pan and put on the axleofthe wheel- 
barrow against the wheel d. The hole in the 
center of the pan must be in the center and 
must fit the axle. Put into the tiarinjr side 
of the pan inch openings the shape of the 
end of your thumb, only do not remove the 
piece of tin. Leave one side hanging so that 
you can spring it open or push it shut, to regu- 
late the dropping of the corn. Make these 
openings three or four inches apart, then ojien 
them or shut them, according as vou want the 
corn dropped. Fiy wheeling this barrow along 
in your marked field it can t>e easily adjusted to 
drop as many kernels as desired. The pan is 
filled through .a two-inch hole, c, in the board 
wheel. This is subsequentlv closed with a 
swing slide, d. The corn may be covere<l with 
a harrow across the rows or other suitable im- 
plement. 



loam, which dries 
out early in the spring and the water percolates through 
it quickly after a rainfall. In many cases where listing 
is followed successfully, there is a scarcity of moisture 
in the soil for germination. Therefore it is necessary 
to get the seed down in the soil in order to secure 
enough moisture for proper germination. The general 



PLANTING AND CULTIVATING II5 



practice in listing is to go into the unprepared field 
with a specially constructed machine called a lister. 
This lister is arranged like a double plow, so that it 
throws out a furrow. The corn is drilled in the bot- 
tom of this furrow, and loose dirt is dragged over the 
seed by small hooks which catch the earth on the sides 
of the furrows. The rows are usually drilled about 
three and one-half feet apart, and when cultivated, the 
dirt is rolled down into the furrow until at the end of 
the season the field is level. 

Listing in Eastern States — Owing to the success 
of this practice in the western states, it has been intro- 
duced into Illinois and some of the eastern states. In 
these cases it has not been entirely successful. The 
method of listing has been changed to suit the eastern 
conditions. Instead of going into the unprepared field 
and listing the corn, most farmers furrow out the field 
late in the fall or during the winter. These furrows 
are drawn about three and one-half feet apart, so there 
is a ridge of loose dirt between the two furrows. At 
the time of planting these ridges are split with the 
lister and the old furrows filled up. In this way the 
surplus water is allowed to drain out of the soil and 
the seedbed is put in condition for germination. After 
the second set of furrows has been made the seed is 
planted with an ordinary corn planter, the runners of 
the ])lanter following in the furrows made by the lister. 
Usually the seed is checked, thus allowing cross- 
(sultivation. 

TJie objection to listing, as ordinarily practiced, 
in the eastern states, or in the heavier loam soils, is 
that the seed is put down in a dead furrow where it is 
too cold for germination. There is no reason, in such 
soils, for going down to secure moisture, because there 
is usually an excess of water for germination. After 
the corn comes up it is not possible to stir the soil about 



Il6 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the young' plants and cut out the small weeds. They 
cannot be covered up and killed with loose dirt, and the 
consequence is that the corn is injured by weeds and 
the weed roots are allowed to mature and seed the field. 

Where the listed corn is checked, this disadvantage 
is partly done away with, and the field corn can be more 
perfectly cleaned. In the loose, sandy soils listing 
might be an advantage. The seed is put down deep 
enough to secure plenty of moisture for germination 
and the soil is usually warmed up as deep as the seed 
is planted. It is further claimed than a deeper root 
development is a result of listing and that listed corn 
will withstand the storms of summer better than corn 
not listed. 

At the Illinois station, extensive series of experi- 
ments with listing compared to ordinary culture showed 
there was little difference between the listed corn and 
the corn planted in the ordinary manner. In fact, ob- 
servations on this point in different sections of the state 
showed that corn planted in the ordinary manner 
seemed to stand up better than the listed corn. The 
results of the experiments at this station showed a 
uniformly larger yield from the corn planted with the 
ordinary planter than the listed corn. The soil in the 
listed fields was left in poor condition to stand the rains 
of winter, and was exceedingly difficult to plow in the 
spring. A large crop of weeds was grown in the field, 
oven wath the most careful and frequent cultivation. 
In the western states, where the fields have not become 
seeded to noxious weeds as yet, and with their peculiar 
conditions, listing may be an economical and satisfac- 
tory method of planting com. 

Numhcr of Stalks per Hill — The number of stalks 
to plant in the hill will vary with the variety of corn 
and with the character of the soil. With a large variety 
of improved corn, a few stalks in the hill will give 



PLANTING AND CULTIVATING 



117 



better results than a large number. With ordinary 
field seed, experiments made by the Illinois station 
show that a larger number of stalks will give the best 
result on the rich prairie soils. 




Fig 31 Effects of Listing 

Till- stalks on extreme left jihinted in ordinary Wiiy. Second, listed on prepared 
ground. Third, listed on unprepared grounil. t'Oni th, ridgtd 

If the corn is planted the ordinary distance apart, 
three and two-thirds feet, and one stalk is grown in 
every hill, and every stalk produce an ear weighing a 
pound, the yir'd will be forty-six bushels per acre. If 
two stalks are grown in every hill the yield will be 



Il8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ninety-three bushels per acre, while if three stalks are 
grown in every hill the yield will be one hundred and 
thirty-nine bushels per acre. 

However, a certain percentage of the stalks in the 
field are barren, and a large percentage of the ears do 
not weigh a pound, so that in order to make up the 
non-uniform condition of the crop, it is the usual prac- 
tice to plant from three to four stalks per hill. With 
the ordinary seed it is almost impossible to secure a 
high percentage of germination, so that in order to 
make up for this loss in the stand an extra number of 
kernels are planted. 

Test Germinating Pozver — Seed corn that germi- 
nates less than ninety-five per cent should not be used. 
The general vitality of such seed must be low, and 
poor plants and a small yield will result. The ordinary 
planter docs not drop an even number oi kernels to the 
hill. In such cases some hills undoubtedly have too 
many kernels, while others do not have any. A poor 
or uneven stand is the cause of greatest loss to 
corn growers. 

In order to get an even stand, it is necessary to 
use good seed and a planter which will drop an even 
number of kernels to the hill. Some of the latest im- 
proved planters have the plates so arranged that the 
kernels are dropped one at a time from the seed box 
to a small receptacle in the runner. This plate is run 
by a drill attachment so that the kernels drop regularly 
and uniformly into the runner. When the check lever 
opens the receptacle the seed for one hill drops directly 
into the seedbed. By such a machine an even stand can 
be secured if the seed corn is of uniform size. This 
arrangement also provides for an even check which 
is necessary for proper cultivation. This even check 
can be secured by setting a small stake in the hole made 
by the wire stake at the end of the field. By sighting 



TLANTING AND CULTIVATING II9 

down this row of stakes before setting the wire stake, 
a straight cross check can be secured. 

CULTIVATION 

The reasons for cultivation are: i, to destroy 
weeds ; 2, conserve soil moisture; and 3, aerate the soil. 
Of these the most important is the conservation of soil 
moisture. If the ground is not stirred it bakes, cracks 
open and the evaporation of moisture goes on very 
rapidly. By stirring the soil through frequent cultiva- 
tion, thus keeping a loose mulch on the surface, 
capilliarity is broken up and the moisture retained. 
The moisture can be used by plants for growth which 
would otherwise be lost in the atmosphere. 

Conservation of Soil Moisture — The Wisconsin 
experiment station has determined the amount of water 
necessary to pass through the corn plant in order to 
mature the plant. This station states that there is not 
enough moisture in the soils of the cornfields of the 
United States to mature the largest possible crop. This 
moisture, taken up by the corn roots, passes through 
the plant, carrying dissolved plant food which the 
plants abstract and use in their process of growth, and 
is given ofif to the atmosphere through the stomates of 
the leaves. 

These pores of the corn leaves have a regulating 
influence upon the amount of water given off to the 
atmosphere. During dry, hot weather they open wide 
as a bent spring or bow, and transpiration goes on very 
rapidly. This tends to cool the temperature of the 
plant as the perspiring of human beings tends to regu- 
late the temperature of the body. So that the water 
has not only the function of taking food into the plant, 
but also the important matter of regulating the tem- 
perature of the plant. 



120 Till': l!(W)K OF CORN 

If from any reason this su])])ly of water is cut off 
the plant dies, or if the water is supphed in insufficient 
(juantities the plant suffers acc(jrdinji;-ly, so that it is 
one object of cultivation to conserve the pfreatest possi- 
ble amount oi moisture in the soil for use by the plants 
and to allow of the jj^reatest possible development of the 
root system of the plants. 

Shallow Cultk'alion — In j^^eiural, shallow or sur- 
face cultivation fre(|uently performed, conserves more 
moisture than a smaller number of shallow cultiva- 
tions. (Jn the other hand, an equal number of deep 
cultivations will likely conserve more moisture than 
shallow cultivations. By a careful series of tests at 
the Illinois experiment station this fact was conclu- 
sively demon.strated. However, the shallow cultiva- 
tions uniformly jT;-ive the larf2;-est yields. This loss in 
yield in the deep cultivations was undoubtedly not due 
to less moisture, but to injury to the root system bv the 
cultivation. I'"or instance, it was found that by pruning 
the roots of the corn jjlants to different depths during 
three years of ex])erimentation that the yield was uni- 
formly smaller the deeper the root pruning. 

Root limning — The more roots cut off the smaller 
the yield. In the cases of the i)Iants. the roots of 
which were prtuied, it was found that after ])runing 
the i)lants drooped, the leaves rolled up, giving everv 
indication of injury (\i}q to lack of sufficient soil tnois- 
ture. The plants were stunfed and never recovered 
their vitrdity, but matured earlier than the ]dants not 
pruned, although otherwise grown under sinu"la. 
conditions. See I'ig 54. 

Effect of JJ'rrds on Crop — The ]>oin1 of second 
importance in cnrn cullivatinn is the removal of the 
weeds. Tf weeds of any kind are allowed to grow in 
the cornfield, they use the same eli-ments of fertilit\' a.'^ 
the corn plants, conse(|uently they compete with the 




E 8 

e 4, 

^ •£ 

o f 

a ^ 

o. "S 



122 THE BOOK OF CORN 

corn plants for moisture, light and plant food. Owing 
to the" struggle for existence constantly going on 
among the memhers of the weed families, they are usu- 
ally particularly fitted to secure their food and to drive 
out other plants. So that when the weeds grow among 
the corn plants they usually have the advantage in the 
ability to live. 

In order to get rid of these noxious weeds a large 
number of kinds of cultivators have been put on the 
market. In the past the large shovel cultivator, calcu- 
lated to stir the soil deeply and get rid of all weeds, 
was the universal cultivator. To-day these implements 
are not in general use, because it was found they 
did infinite damage to the corn crop through root injury. 
In their place has come the small shovel cultivator. 
Instead of two large shovels there are three or four 
small shovels attached to each beam. These stir the 
soil and cut out the weeds, yet do not go deep enough 
to injure the roots. Along with this kind of machine 
have come many other types adapted to different 
conditions of soil and climate. 

Culture Implements — These are divided in general 
into three classes: i, the harrow; 2, the disk; 3. the 
knife cultivator. An example of the harrow type is 
the common weeder. The principle involved here is 
teeth which scratch out the small weeds, but do not go 
deep enough to injure the corn roots. In loose, sandy 
soils this implement is very successful. Large areas can 
be covered in a short time so that the field can be fre- 
quently cultivated. However, it will not remove large 
weeds or stir the heaviest clay soils. 

The second type, or disk, cuts the weeds out with 
a sharp rolling disk, but does not go deep enough to 
injure the corn roots. Again, this implement is most 
successful on the sanrlv, looser soils, where it can 
easilv move the surface laver of the soil. The first disk 



PLANTING AND CULTIVATING I23 

cultivators were so arranj^^ed as to throw a ridge along 
the row of corn. This is a disadvantage and has been 
eliminated in the latest types of the disk cultivators. 

The third type, the knife, or gopher cultivators, as 
they are sometimes called, scrape off the weeds from 
the surface of the ground without cutting the corn 
roots. The knives or blades do not work successfully 
in all soils. The blade or knife does not easily pene- 
trate the heavy clay soils, and consequently rubs over 
many of the weeds without cutting them off. 

Ideal Cultk'ator — The best cultivator is that one 
which stirs the surface of the soil thoroughly to make 
a loose mulch, which removes the weeds completely, but 
which does not injure the roots of the corn plant. A 
root cut off does not reunite, or does not grow out 
again. The ability of the plant to avail itself of plant 
food and moisture is reduced just so much. As the 
greater part of the plant food available for use by the 
plant is in the surface soil, a very great damage results 
from cutting off the roots near the surface. Added to 
this is the fact that any injury to the corn plant, 
whether to the roots or stem, checks its growth and 
must result in a decrease of vield. 



CHAPTER IX 

^UiH— SInrattntt. (Unnatntrtinn mxh Untiling 

SHE location of the silo should be given careful 
attention, for sila.q-e is heavy and it should 
not be necessary to carry it very far. The 
silos should be as near the manger as practi- 
cable and convenient to the feeding trough. Many 
silos are constructed within the barn where the 
silage is to be fed, or just outside the bam but 
connected with it by means of a passageway. They 
are frequently built against the barn with the doors 
opening inside the building. Having the silo wholly 
within the barn is not only convenient, but in cold 
climates where the silage is apt to freeze between feed- 
ing periods the protection afforded by the building 
surrounding the silo "is very desirable. In some cases 
where the silage is to be fed in several buildings it may 
be well to construct the silo entirely distinct from any 
of them. In many respects this is most desirable when 
feeding dairy cows. For if the silo is inside of the 
barn and any of the silage is dropped and not removed 
at once, a disagreeable odor arises which taints the air, 
and being taken in into the lungs of the cows injures 
the quality of the milk. If it is necessary to have the 
silo inside of the dairy bam. build a partition between 
it and the cows in order to keep out all disagree- 
able odors. 

GENERAT, CLASSES OF SILOS 

There are three different kinds of silos — wooden, 
stone and brick. The wooden silo is by far the cheap- 
est and in most localities the one to build. ^^M^ere 
building stone is abundant and cheap, it may pay to 



SILOS 



125 



put up a stone silo, as one of this kind is practically 
indestructible. Under certain conditions brick silos 
may be the most satisfactory. The average dairyman 
and stock farmer will, however, build a round wooden 
silo with a stone foundation laid 
in cement. There is less wasfe 
of space and silage in a round 
silo, although many square and 
rectangular ones are found very 
satisfactory. 

Building the Round Silo — • 
There are two methods of build- 
ing round silos. Both have en- 
thusiastic advocates and seem to 
be giving satisfaction. The silo 
built of staves kept together by 
hoops, and with a stone founda- 
tion and concrete bottom, has 
many friends. The other kind 
has the same sort of a founda- 
tion and base, but the wall in 
this is built by placing studding 
eighteen inches apart and cover- 
ing these on the inside with two 
or three and on the outside with 
two layers of half-inch boards, 
between which are placed layers 
of tar paper. Both kinds give 
complete satisfaction in most in- 
stances, and the farmer should 
be governed largely by the dif- 
ference in cost and his own personal preference. 

Where drainage is good it is advisable to start 
the silo several feet below the surface of the ground. 
Put in a stone foundation laid in cement, making it 
one and one-half to two feet thick. For the bottom use 




Fig 33 — Distribution of 
Hoops on Stave Silo 

At least three kinds of 
hoops have been used in 
stave silos, a round, flat and 
woven wire. All three, of 
course, are iron, and are 
held in place hv luf>:s or 
castings. These lugs of the 
various hoops should he 
distributed over the surface 
of the silo, rather than rise 
one above another in a 
straight line. Proper distri- 
bution is suggested in the 
accompanying cut. 



126 THE BOOK OF CORN 

concrete six or eight inches in thickness. Cover the 
bottom and walls with two or three layers of cement 
put on with a trowel, then go over the surface with a 
cement wash. A little dry cement may be worked in 
to give it a hard finish. The material required for a 
concrete foundation is enough finely broken rock or 
gravel to occupy the space, over which is poured a mix- 
ture of sand four parts, cement one part, with enough 
water to make a paste. The stone part of the silo 
should at least go down below the frost line. 

Staz'c Silo — If the silo is to be made of staves, 
select the best and most available material possible, 
white pine if located in the northern states, cypress in 
the southern and Douglass fir if in the far west. 
Almost any kind of pine may be used provided the 
material is perfectly sound, well seasoned and free 
from knots. The boards should be six inches wide, 
although some prefer four-inch boards. Those two 
inches in thickness are best, although one and one-half 
inches will do for mild climates. If possible select 
boards which are long enough when placed on end to 
reach from the top of the foundation to the top of the 
silo. If the boards arc smooth on the inside and along 
the edges so much the better. Rough boards can 
be used. 

Set up the staves on the foundation, holding them 
in place by rudely constructed circles just the inside 
size of the desired silo. These may be made of moder- 
atelv short pieces of fence board with the corners 
sawed off, and nailed together so as to form a circle. 
l"'^se three of these, one at the top, one at the bottom 
and one about the middle. Place the staves in position 
around these circles, and hold them in place tempo- 
rarily by driving nails through the outer edge of the 
circle and into the stave. In no case must the nails be 
allowed to go through the stave. Put on hoops which 



SILOS 127 

have been previously prepared and with lugs draw 
together tightly. The staves when in position should 
be flush with the inside of foundation. The hoops will 
be either flat iron bands or iron rods. Iron rods when 
used as hoops are usually about five-eighths inch in 
diameter. The lugs make it possible to take up the 
slack as the silage and silo shrink. 

The number of hoops required will depend upon the 
size of the silo. For one sixteen feet in diameter place 
a hoop within a few inches of the base of the staves, 
then let the next one be two feet above. The others 
may be placed in position, increasing the space with 
each additional hoop at least six inches until four feet 
is reached, which should be the limit. 

The doors should be provided from the bottom to 
the top of the silo_, and made to fit so as to prevent 
entrance of air. It is best to cut these out after the 
staves have been put in place. The edges should be 
beveled and these bevels should be covered with strips 
of tarred paper. Before sawing out the door, nail on 
two cleats, a trifle shorter than the width of the door, 
so that when the boards are cut out they will remain 
in the form of a door. The roof for a circular silo 
may be either conical or of the ordinary form. The 
conical roof is more difficult to construct, and while it 
looks better it is in reality of no great advantage. 

The si::e of the silo will depend largely upon the 
number of animals to be fed. It is not desirable to 
have a silo less than twenty-four feet deep and sixteen 
feet in diameter. A silo of that capacity will hold 
approximately eighty-seven tons. If the silo is thirty 
feet deep and sixteen feet in diameter, it will hold one 
hundred and nineteen tons ; if thirty feet deep and 
twenty-four feet in diameter it will hold two hundred 
and sixty-nine tons. A cow consumes about forty 
pounds of silage per day, and estimating that she is 



128 



THE BDOK OF CORN 



to be fed two hundred days, she will consume four 
tons. Consequently for twenty-five cows one hundred 
tons must be provided. A good corn crop will yield 




> 


.t.. 






. 9 


* 





Fig 34— Construction of Studding Silo in Detail 

A, portion under ground; H, cros.sstclion sliowinfj studdinir ; C, top of 
silo, showinp; arrangement of rafters; D, section of wall, showing building 
paper between layers of boards; H, wall ventilators; F, door; G, cross-section 
of door and wall; H, cutting nifters. 



about ten tons per acre. For one hundred tons of 
silag-e, therefore, ten acres of com must be raised. 

Silo with Studding — The other kind of a wooden 



SILOS 



129 



silo, that made with studding' covered with boards and 
tar paper, is easily constructed. A wheel or circular 
sill must be provided to lay directly on top of the foun- 



APPROXIMATE CAPACITY IN TONS OF CYLINDRICAL SILOS 
FOR WELL-MATURED CORN SILAGE — KING 



-r ** 






INSIDE DIAMETER IN FEET 








15 


16 


17 


18 


19 


20 


21 


22 


24 


25 26 


20 


58.8 


67.0 


75.6 


84.7 


94.4 


104.6 


115.3 


126.6 


150.6 


163.41 176.8 


?1 


62.9 


71.6 


80.8 


90.6 


100.9 


111.8 


123.3 


135.3 


161.0 


174.71 189.0 


22 


67.4 


76.5 


86.4 


96.8 


107.9 


119.6 


131.8 


144.7 


172.2 


186.8 202.1 


23 


71.4 


81.6 


92.1 


103.3 


115.1 


127.5 


140.6 


154.3 


183.6 


199.3, 215.5 


24 


76.1 


86.6 


97.8 


109.8 


122.1 


135.3 


149.2 


163.7 


194.9 


211.5 228.7 


25 


80.6 


89.6 


103.6 


116.1 


129.3 


143.3 


158. (' 


173.4 


206.4 


223.9 242.2 


26 


85.5 


97.2 


109.8 


123.0 


137. 1 


151.9 


167.5 


183.8 


218.8 


237.4 256.7 


91 


90.2 


102.6 


115.8 


129.8 


144.7 


160.3 


176.7 


194.0 


230.8 


250.5 


270.9 


28 


95.0 


108.1 


122.0 


136.8 


152.4 


168.9 


186.2 


204.3 


243.2 


263,9 


285.4 


29 


99.9 


113.7 


128.3 


143.9 


160.3 


177.6 


195.8 


214.9 


255.8 


277 . 6 


300.2 


30 


105.0 


119.4 


134.8 


151.1 


168.4 


186.6 


205.7 


225.8 


268.7 


291.6 


315.3 


31 


109.8 


124.9 


141.1 


158.2 


176.2 


105.2 


215.3 


236.3 


281.8 


305.1 


330.0 


32 


115.1 


135.9 


147.8 


165.7 


184.6 


204.6 


225.5 


247.5 


294.6 


319.6 


345.7 



NECESSARY DIAMETER OF SILOS FOR FEEDING DIFFERENT 

NUMBERS OF COWS WHILE REMOVING 2 TO 3.2 

INCHES SILAGE DAILY KING 



No 


Silo 30 ft deep, no partition, mean 
depth fed daily 2 inches 


Silo 24 ft d'p.with partiti.ins, 
mean depth fed daily 3.2 in 


of 
cows 


Contents 


Round 
diame- 
ter in 
feet 


Square 

sides 

in 

feet 


Contents 


Round 
diame- 
ter ill 
feet 


Square 
sides 

in 
feet 




Tons 


Cuft 


Tons 


Cuft 


30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
90 
100 


108 
144 
180 
216 
252 
288 
324 
360 


4,091 
6,545 
8,182 
9,818 
11,4.H 
13,091 
14,727 
16,364 


15 

16.75 

18.75 

205 

22 

22.5 

25 

26.5 


12x14 
14x16 

10x18 
18x18 
20x20 
20x22 
22x24 
24x24 


108 
144 

180 
216 
252 
288 
324 
1 360 


5.510 
7,347 
9,184 
11,020 
12,857 
14,691 
16,.531 
18,367 


17 

20 

22 

24 

26 

28 

29.75 

31.25 


16x16 
18x18 
20x20 
22x22 
22x26 
24x26 
26x28 
28x28 



dation. This is usually constructed of the same kind 
of material as the studding, say two by eights. It 
is made by nailing a number of pieces together and 
beveling and rounding the ends so that a complete 



130 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



circle is formed. The studs are placed in an upri.c^ht 
position, toenailed to the sill and secured at the top by 
means of a plate constructed similar to the sill. 

The frame is now ready to be covered and lined. 
The best results for the linin_q- are secured by using 
two or three layers of half-inch boards between which 
layers of tar paper are placed. First nail a layer of the 




Fig 35— Cheap Stave Silo 

In Wisconsin 



boards horizontally as close together as possible, then 
put on a layer of good tar paper and covw this with 
a second layer of boards. Put on another layer of 
boards, etc, taking care to break joints with each pre- 
vious layer. For covering the outside put on a layer of 
half-inch boards, as before indicated, then a layer of 



SILOS 131 

tar paper, and complete the outside with a layer of 
ordinary weather boarding or shiplap placed horizon- 
tally. Put on a conical or ordinary roof of shingles. 
Provide doors as nearly air tight as possible. The silo 
is then ready for filling. 

The ventilation of this kind of silo is very im- 
portant. There must be a properly protected opening 
through the roof from which the gaseous products of 
fermentation may escape. The walls must also be 
ventilated. On the outside near the bottom cut an 
opening or bore auger holes in the exterior wall and 
cover with wire netting. Do the same on the inside 
near the top. Have at least half a dozen or so of 
these ventilators in each silo, or better still one set 
for each space between studs. Circulation of air will 
be secured and the construction material will last better. 

Brick silos should be constructed with two or three 
walls and air spaces of one to four inches between the 
walls. The total thickness of the wall should not be 
less than two feet. The inner walls can be made of 
broken brick and thus reduce the cost. The bricks 
should be laid in cement, and the interior of the silo 
should be covered with a coating or two of good 
cement. Have the masons leave a door three feet high 
at the bottom of the silo, arching it over at the top. 
Build up two or three feet, then leave another door, and 
so on. A brick silo sixteen feet in diameter and 
twenty-four feet deep will require about twenty-one 
thousand brick. 

In building a stone silo, prepare the founda- 
tion and bottom as for a wooden, then build up the 
walls at least twenty-four inches thick. When the 
building is completed, roof it over carefully and 
give the interior a coating or two of cement so that 
t-he surface will be as smooth and air tight as that of a 
cistern. If the stone wall is properly constructed there 



132 THE BOOK OF CORN 

will be no necessity for protecting it on the outside. 
If, however, this is considered necessary, place stud- 
ding- against the outside of the wall and cover with 
weather boarding. The stone silo will cost seven or 
eight dollars a cord — stone, cement, lime and labor. 
It takes thirty-six cords of stone to make a silo sixteen 
feet in diameter and thirty feet deep. A silo of this 
size holds about one hundred and twenty tons. 

Ceiiicnt Lining — Of late years many wooden silos 
have been lathed on the inside and given two or three 
coatings of cement. This has worked well where the 
laths are placed on a solid wall, such as is found in the 
average wooden silo. When the work is carefully done 
the resulting silo is in effect a cement silo, except that 
the wooden parts are apt to decay and are not as dura- 
ble as stone or brick. Some dairymen report good 
results from the use of patent lathing nailed direct to 
studding and properly cemented. The studding must 
be close enough to each other so that the layers of 
cement will not spring and crack. This is more liable 
to occur in a square than in a round silo. 

PUTTING CORN INTO THE SILO 

Corn is the great silage crop in the United States. 
A variety with heavy foliage and stalks of medium size 
planted early in spring is most desirable. This, if 
kept clean and well cultivated throughout the season, 
will yield at the rate of ten to fifteen tons of green 
forage i)er acre. When the plants are fairly well ma- 
tured, say as the ears are beginning to glaze, and when 
the indentations are well marked, is considered the 
most desirable time for cutting. This is usually just 
after what is termed the roasting ear stage. Consider- 
able judgment will be required, even with this in mind. 
With some varieties of corn and durinsT some seasons 



SILOS 



^35 



maturity is not complete until after that period. The 
farmer will soon learn to judge as to the best time for 
cutting, remembering always that immature corn usu- 
ally results in sour silage, while fairly well matured 
fodder gives sweet, palatable feed. Where a large 
amount of silage is to be handled by a comparatively 
small force of men, it will be necessary to begin cut- 




Fig 36 Silo Attached to barn 



ting rather early and continue until the crop is past the 
most desirable stage. 

According to some Pennsylvania experiments corn 
rapidly increases in the total quantity of dry matter 
as it approaches maturity. These particular tests show 
that the total amount of digestible matter was much 



134 THE BOOK OF CORN 

g^reater when nearly mature than when cut earher, and 
that the digestihihty decreased at a slower rate than in 
the case of other forage crops. The total yield of 
digestible material, for instance, was thirty to thirty-six 
per cent greater when the crop was fairly well matured 
than at silking time. When the corn begins to get too 
dry, the silage may be greatly benefited by the addition 
of water, either to the cut corn as it comes out of the 
cutter, or to the material as it is deposited in the silo. 
Some Michigan farmers have been well satisfied with 
cutting their dry fodder direct from the shock, putting 
it into the silo and thoroughly moistening it. They 
claim that the material becomes succulent, and is a 
much more desirable stock feed than when fed as dry 
fodder. When corn has been frosted and allowed to 
dry out it can be made into silage. Fair feed results, 
although it is not so good as the green silage. 

Placing corn in the silo usually increases the diges- 
tibility of the crude fiber. On the other hand, there is 
always some loss from fermentation and a slight de- 
crease in the digestibility of other food elements. This 
partially offsets the benefit. Silage, however, is better 
than cured corn fodder, as field curing decreases the 
digestibility of many substances, particularly of the 
fiber. Numerous experiments show that the decrease 
in digestibility is about the same in some elements in 
field-cured fodder, but the digestibility of the fiber is 
greatly increased in silage and decreased in fodder. 

Loading and Hanlhii^ — The modern corn binder is 
very satisfactory for cutting corn for the silo. Where 
only a small area is to be handled, say ten acres, the 
old-fashioned corn knife or some of the sled cutters 
answer very well. If the cutting is done by hand, the 
corn should be deposited in bunches so that it can be 
loaded easily on a wagon. 

A low wagon is very essential for transporting the 



SILOS 



135 



green corn to the silage cutter. The one represented 
in Fig 37 has been used by the Wisconsin experi- 
ment station and by many practical farmers. The 
running gears of an old wagon may be utilized. The 
stringers are four by eight inches and eighteen or 
twenty feet long. They can be connected to the front 
axle and held in place by means of an elongated king- 
bolt provided with a nut and washer. From the back 
axle they are suspended by means of two three-fourths- 
inch bolts with washers below and hooks above. The 
wagon hounds are kept from tipping up by means of 
a short piece of two-inch oak board extending from 




Fig 37— Low Wagon for Handling Silage Com 



the kingbolt to the back standards. The floor is usually 
made of inch oak boards. 

Cutting for Silo — Corn is conveyed to the ma- 
chine and there cut into one-inch and one and one-half- 
inch lengths. Some feeders prefer one-half and three- 
fourths-inch lengths, but these are liable to cause sore- 
ness of the mouth in cattle, particularly if the material 
is hard. The cut corn is elevated or blown into the silo. 
Care must be taken to have it evenly distributed. If a 
conical heap is allowed to form in the center, the 
heavier portions, such as the butts and pieces of ears, 
roll to the outside and the lighter portions remain in 
the middle. This results in an uneven distribution of 
the silage, which is very undesirable. Keep this heap 
raked down, or bv means of a flexible tube of some 



136 THE BOOK OF CORN 

kind attached to the end of the carrier, direct the mate- 
rial to all parts of the silo. If this is carefully done, 
and it is tramped down compactly, the results will be 
most satisfactory. In many cases, in fact, in almost 
all, it is desirable to fill about half full, allow to settle 
for a day or two, then fill to the top. allow the silage to 
settle for several more days, then refill. This may be 
accomplished easily where two or more silos are being 
filled on the same farm. Work one or two days on 
one, then move to the other and work a da\' or two. 
Do the greater part of the tramping around the edge. 

Covering — The matter of covering the silage is 
still in dispute. Some cover with hay or straw, others 
with some kind of cloth, still others with boards or 
straw, wet down well, while a few cut several loads of 
very green corn very fine, put on top and sprinkle with 
water. A mold soon develops and forms a dense mass 
which completely excludes the air. In many places no 
covering at all is used. The upper eight or ten inches 
molds and seals the silo, and in this way prevents the 
entrance of air. 

Handling Stalks Uncut — In some neighborhoods 
corn is put into the silo without cutting. Those who 
practice this method claim that silage is sweeter and 
much more palatable, especially for horses, than when 
the stalk is cut. The ear, being left undisturbed in its 
husk, retains its natural flavor and aroma. Air gets 
into the interior of the stalk and ear when it is cut up 
into small pieces and more or less decomposition re- 
sults.' This is not so apparent when the stalk is pre- 
served whole. The objection to the system is that it is 
more difficult to compact the whole corn so as to ex- 
clude all the air. As a consequence there is considerable 
more danger of loss. Another objection is the greater 
difficulty in handling the stalks when putting them 
into the silo and when thev are to be taken (Hit. This, 



SILOS 



137 



however, is largely overcome by cutting the corn with 
a binder and using a double harpoon fork for elevating 
and dropping into the silo. The green corn is loaded 
on the low wagons in sections so that the fork can 
handle it nicely. In taking the whole silage out for 
feeding the same apparatus is used, merely reversing 
the process. 

Fig 38 shows how Mr Hodgson of Wisconsin 
places the bundles. When the silo is square they are 
placed at a, the dotted line representing the top of the 
silo. In a round silo the bundles are laid round and 
round as at b, and have this appearance when seen 



TO/o e/^i/o. 









Fig 38— Placing Bundles in Square and Round Silo 



from above. Mr Hodgson's round silo holds one 
hundred and thirty tons. He has stored whole corn in 
this manner for twelve years and is perfectly satisfied. 
He claims that it is sweeter and that his animals eat it 
more readily than when cut. 

The cost of putting up silage will depend upon the 
distance from the field, the implements used, etc. As a 
general rule and with ordinary appliances silage can be 
put up for about forty cents per ton. Some farmers 
have done this work for twenty to twenty-five cents per 
ton and some have paid sixty to eighty cents. 

The preserving of feed in the silo makes it possible 
not onlv to secure succulent forage in winter, when 



138 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



green croi)s are not available, but also provides green 
fodder during droutbs in summer and autumn. A 
number of experiment stations have tested silage two 
or three years old and find that where it kept well it 
\vas just as good as when only six months old. Prac- 
tical farmers have had the same experience and find it 
much the cheapest method of supplying succulent feed 




Fig 39— Filling the Silo 



during that part of the year when pastures are short. 
If not needed the first summer it can be held until the 
next winter or even the next summer. Many are 
coming to believe that soiling and the silo are more 
economical than trying to provide pasturage for 
farm animals. 

Prcscrvinj^ Green Crops Without Silo — Various 
attempts have been made to preserve green cro])s with- 
out a silo. The ])lan is to stack them in the o])en air 



SILOS 139 

as compactly as possible. The outer layer will decom- 
pose and form a coating- which will exclude air from 
the interior. The stack then in a sense becomes a silo. 
Only a few attempts have been made with corn, but 
with clover, cowpeas and soy beans numerous tests 
have uniformly resulted in disappointment. It is an 
exceeding-ly hazardous method of preservings the green 
feed. There is too much danger of the decomposition 
extending- all the way through, or at least far into the 
stack. Some Illinois farmers, having more corn than 
they could put in their silos, tried this method. They 
cut it very fine, stacked it in the open air, tramped down 
slightly and covered with hay. More than half the 
fodder rotted, but they claim that even this was not a 
total loss, as cattle and sheep ate it readily after it 
became thoroughly dry. They did not care, however, 
to repeat the experiment. 



CHAPTER X 

^arlirstiuij 

^/^XtSTINri ap;Ticultural conditions arc bc^innin^ 
^P' to have an influence upon the method of har- 
^^ vesting corn in the middle and western states. 
While the rich prairie soils contained an unlim- 
ited amount of plant food little attention was given 
to harvesting corn except to see that the largest imme- 
diate returns from each individual crop were secured. 
No thought, or at least very little, was given to 
the matter of keeping up the fertility of the land 
by returning to it any part of the grain grown upon 
it from year to year. Where fodder was needed 
for farm animals the corn was cut and preserved 
in shocks until needed for feed. The general rule, 
however, was to allow the corn to remain in the 
field until thoroughly matured, then to husk the 
ears from the standing stalks. The grain was either 
fed or sold direct to the elevator. The stalks were 
allowed to remain in the field until spring, when they 
were broken, raked and burned. 

By this method absolutely nothing was returned 
except the ashes from the stalks, and these were so 
poorly distributed as to be of little value. The pro- 
ductive capacity of the soil began to decrease, until 
to-day the chief est proljlcm confronting the corn belt 
farmer is how to harvest and dispose of his corn crop 
and at the same time retain the greatest amount of 
valuable fertilizing elements — potash, phosphorus and 
nitrogen. The nitrogen is obtained by growing leg- 
umes, particularly clovers and cowpeas. How to 
retain the i)otash and phosphorus is the great problem. 



HARVESTING 



141 



Progressive farmers realize that one of the best ways 
is to raise as much stock as possible and feed the grain 
on the farm. If this is done a large part of these two 
valuable mineral elements will be returned to the land 
in the manure. So long as cattle and hogs bring good 
prices it is not difficult to make a profit in this way, 
but when they are cheap very careful management is 
required. Because of this, it has come about that 
more and more attention is being given to the methods 
which will result in securing the entire corn plant in 

the best possible 
condition. The old 
and somewhat 
wasteful method of 
husking from the 
standing stalk, 
then selling the 
grain, still obtains, 
but the saving and 
feeding of the fod- 
der is a larger and 
larger item each 




Fig 40— Simple Corn Cutter 

One of the cheapest corn harvesters possible 
is shown in accompanying cut. It is simply a 
sled with wide platform and sharp-cut edifes at a. 
This sled is drawn between two rows of stand- 
ing corn. The stalks are cut otT by the cutters 
at a, and cau<;ht by two men who stand or sit 
on the sled. When the armful is tjathered, the 
horse is stopped and the corn is taken to the 
shock and placed in position. By placing 
wheels at the front and rear of tke sled the draft 
is greatly reduced. 



coming better known in the strictly beef and mutton 
growing parts of the country. However, the great 
bulk of the fodder crop will for many years be cut and 
cured in the field and afterwards fed in the drv state. 



year. 


The silo 


finds 


a place in 


every 


dairy sec- 


tion, 


and is be- 



INFLUENCE OF MATURITY I'PON YIELD OF DIGESTIBLE 
SUBSTANCE 

The stage of development of a plant at the time 
it is harvested may materially affect its value as a feed, 



142 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



in the quantity of di^q-estible material produced and in 
the palatableness of the fodder. Aside from these 
considerations, the fi^Teater certainty and convenience 
in cnrini; tlie more mature plants, the mechanical loss 
of the finer portions due to storms or to the handlinjo; 
of the plants in harvesting" when they arc too mature, 
affect in practice, to a considerable degree, the time 
of harvesting each crop independently of the yield and 
the palatability of the product. It is also true that in 
handling large areas of any crop it is not convenient 
or profitable to arrange for sufficient force of men and 
machinery to harvest the entire crop in precisely the 
stage that combines the maximum yield with the 
highest degree of palatability. Hence the harvest 
must usually begin at a stage when some sacrifice in 
yield is made, and extend to the point where loss i:i 
palatability is sustained. 

In the case of the corn plant, the impression has 
long prevailed that after the roasting ear stage is 
reached, nothing- is actually added to the plant, that it 
then contains all the nutrients it will ever contain ; 
that the non-nitrogenous compounds then consist 
chiefly of "sugar," which is to some extent at least 
converted into indigestible compounds in the process 
of ripening, and that by allowing it to ripen a loss of 
digestible material occurs by reason of these changes. 

WATER AND DRY MATTER AT DIFFERENT PERIODS* 



Date 


of 


CUttltlK 


July 


30 


Aug 


9 


Auk 


•21 


Sept 


7 


Sept 


23 



StaRC of growth 



FiiUy tassftled 

Frilly silked 

Kernels watery to full milk. 

Kernels glazing 

Ripe 



Corn 


Water 


per 


per 


acre 


acre 


TONS 


TONS 


9.0 


8.2 


12.9 


11.3 


lf>.3 


14.0 


it;.i 


12.5 


14.2 


10.2 



Dry 

matter 

per 

acre 

TONS 

0.8 
1.6 
2.3 
3.6 
4.0 



*Hcnry, Feeds and Feeding; from New York (Geneva) station. 



HARVESTING 



143 



That the position is wholly erroneous, and that the 
plant continues to gain in dry substance until fully 
mature, is clearly shown by the results of numerous 
careful experiments. 

It will be observed that the most rapid gain in 
pounds of dry matter per acre occurred between the 
roasting car and glazing stages, and that there was a 
material gain from the glazing stage to the time when 
the plant was ripe. Had the crop in this case been 
harvested in the roasting ear stage, the yield of dry 
matter would have been two and three-tenths tons per 
acre, while four tons were secured when the plants 
were fully ripe. In other words, the yield was practi- 
cally doubled between the roasting ear and full 
ripeness. 

An elaborate study of this problem by Jordan at 
the Maine experiment station confirms the results 
already quoted and adds to our knowledge of the 
changes that take place in the composition of the plant 
during the later stages of growth. A summary of the 
results is shown in the following table : 

YIELD OF CORX AT DIFFERENT STAGES GROWTH 



Stage of development 
when liarvested 



Ears beginning to form. 

A few roasting ears 

AH roasting ears 

Some ears glazing 

An ears glazed 

Total increase 














<u 


0. 


eao 


C.S 


2<B 


eg 












c* 




a<a 


■d 0-3 






c cS 










a 


a S oJ 
aa. 




LBS 


LBS 




3064 




13 


5210 


2146 


7 


t5060 


849 


8 


6680 


620 


9 


7039 


358 
3974 1 



S332 

:sSJa 

Q a » 

LBS 



165.0 
121.3 

77.5 
39.8 



In this case the yield of dry matter per acre was 
more than doubled in thirty-seven days, or between 
the silking stage and the fullv glazed stage. It will 



144 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



be interestins? to see what the cliaracter of gain was. 
The table below furnishes this information. 

DIFFERENT CLASSES OF COMPOIINDS PER ACRE AT 
DIFFERENT STAGES 



Sta^e of (ievelopinent 
when harvested 



Ears beginning; to form.. . 

A few roa'^ting ears 

Ali roasting ears 

Some ears glazing 

All ears glazed 

Gain after first cutting... 
Gain after second cutting 



Si 
< 


a 
1 

2 






tr. 

S 


Si 

2 

*•* 


LBS 


LBS 


LBS 


LBS 


LBS 


LBS 


286 


458 


812 


1428 


358 




339 


012 


1214 


2892 


1064 


108 


37H 


6!»0 


1192 


3621 


1248 


297 


372 


639 


1291 


4177 


1407 


357 


41 1; 


650 


1309 


4457 


1161 


1083 


i;{0 


191 


497 


3029 


802 


1083 


77 


38 


95 


1565 


97 


975 



LBS 

80 
1.54 
182 
200 
200 
129 

55 



"Two fads are clearly shown. First, that the latter 
growth of dry matter in the corn plant is made up chiefly of 
non-nitrogenous compounds ; second, a large percentage of 
these compounds consist of sugars and starch, substances that 
are the best of their class for the purposes of animal 
nutrition." 

Not only is the yield increased by allowing the 
plant to mature, but contrary to general opinion the 
mature material is actually more digestible, as is .shown 
by the following summary of American digestion 
experiments compiled by Jordan : 



DIGE.STED FROM lOO TARTS OF ORGANIC MATTER 





Corn 
fodder, 
average 


Silage 




65.7 
70.7 


67.4 




73.6 







Applying these figures for com fodder to the 
yields shown by New York experiments in the preced- 
ing table, it is found that an acre yielded of dry 



HARVESTING 



145 



digestible matter when in roastino: ear stage one and 
five-tenths tons, and when fully ripe two and eight- 
tenths tons. Agani when the field-cured fodder is 




Fig 41— Com Ready to Cut for Fodder 



allowed to remain in the shock until required for feed- 
ing, as is the custom throughout much of the corn belt 
of America, it has been found that the more mature 
plants keep much better than those harvested green. 



146 THE BOOK OF CORN 

and the season is usually sufficiently advanced by the 
time the corn is reasonably mature to escape the warm 
wet weather that is so destructive to feed of this class. 
In the lij^ht of these investig'ations and the expe- 
rience of the most successful fanners, it is considered 
that when the outer husks and the leaves below the ear 
have turned yellow but have not become dry ; when 
the stalk and leaves above the ear begin to show the 
golden tinge, corn will as nearly approximate the 
maximum yield without sacrificing palatability, and 
present a condition when the material may be put up 
in large shocks without danger of molding. At this 
stage the kernels are fully glazed and practically 
mature. 

CUTTING CORN FOR FODDER 

Just how to cut and care for corn desired for fod- 
der is a great problem. When shall it be cut? How 
long shall it remain in the field? Shall it be stacked, 
stored in the barn, or shredded and baled? The opinion 
prevails that corn cut on the green order, provided it 
can be cured perfectly, is more palatable and conse- 
quently more profitable. Under certain conditions this 
may be true. When fodder of very high palatability is 
needed for young growing stock or for animals being 
fed to the limit, it will undoubtedly pay to cut the 
fodder rather early, say about the roasting ear stage, 
and when the leaves at the bottom of plant have just 
begun to turn. At this stage the fodder contains a 
large amount of water and has a high protein content, 
but is deficient in starch, sugar, gum and the like. It 
is also comparatively light in weight at this time, and 
the output per acre is thirty to fifty per cent smaller 
than if allowed to more completely mature. The bulk 
of the corn crop should not be cut until considerably 
later in the season, when the kernels have begun to 



HARVESTING I47 

harden, and the warm sun of autumn has developed 
these starches, sugars and gums in larger quantities. 

DATE OF MAXIMUM HIGHT, WEIGHT AND FOOD CONTENT 

Tests at the Illinois experiment station, averaging 
the results for a series of years, indicate that so far as 
hight is concerned, the maximum is attained during 
the latter part of August, but the greatest weight does 
not occur ordinarily until the middle of September or 
a little later, depending upon the season. At this time 
also it is interesting to note that the water content of 
the plant is much smaller than a few weeks earlier. 
The protein content has not increased much up to this 
time, but the starch has almost doubled during the last 
four weeks and the sugar increases considerably. Of 
course, fiber increases also, but not in so great a pro- 
portion as the starches and sugars. The middle of 
August the corn examined contained about 81 per cent 
of water, a little over i per cent of ash, i^ per cent of 
protein, 51-3 per cent of fiber, lo^^ per cent of starch 
and Yi. per cent of sugars, gums, etc. About one 
month later, when the crop had attained its greatest 
weight, it had the following composition : Water 67^ 
per cent, ash i 2-3 per cent, protein 2 2-3 per cent, fiber 
6^ per cent, starch 20 1-3 per cent, sugars, gums, etc, 
I per cent. This shows a rapid increase during the 
last four weeks. Early in October the change was 
still more marked, analysis showing the following 
composition : Water 56 per cent, ash i^ per cent, pro- 
tein 33/' per cent, fiber 9 per cent, starch 28 per cent, 
sugars, gums, etc, i 1-3 per cent. Tn i88q the crop 
reached the greatest hight the first w^eek in August. 
It reached its greatest weight of drv matter the third 
week in September, the increase during the month 
being nineteen per cent of its total weight of dry mat- 



148 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ter. In 1890 the maximum liit^-ht was attained the 
third week in July, and the maximum weight the 
second week in September. Durin,q- September there 
was a gain of fifteen per cent in total dr}' matter. In 
1 89 1 the greatest bight was reached August i, at 
which time forty-six per cent of the total dry matter 
produced had been developed. By the second week of 
September the maximum weight was attained, or fifty- 
four per cent during the last weeks of growth. 

Do Not Harvest Too Early — These tests go to 
show the great loss, other things being e(|ual, in har- 
vesting corn too early. Then there is the additional 
danger of the immature plant not curing properly 
unless the weather is very dry. The juices contain 
such a small percentage of starches and sugars that 
undesirable ferments are likely to gain a foothold, 
causing a low quality of forage. When the starches 
and sugars are more fully developed later in the season 
a much sweeter and more wholesome product is se- 
cured under favorable conditions. The late Professor 
G. E. Morrow, in summarizing this work, stated that 
observations show that the percentage of dry matter 
in the corn plant, both stalk and ear, increases up to 
the time of maturing, but it has not been shown that 
the digestibility decreases as maturity approaches. It 
seems clear that considerable loss in total food value 
of the corn crop is often sustained by cutting it at too 
early a stage, whether designed for silage or cut for 
dry fodder. The ])ercentage of water in the young 
corn plant is surprisingly large, while the quautitv of 
dry matter and food value is much less than that found 
as the ])lant approaches maturity. On the other hand, 
it frequently happens that considerable loss is sus- 
tained by allowing the crop to remain in the field until 
fully matured. This loss comes from storms, destruc- 
tion from animals, birds, etc. 



<^' 




150 THE P.OOK OF CORN 

BEST TIME TO CUT CORN FOR FODDER 

Extensive experiments to delerniine the best time 
for cuttini^ corn have been conducted at the Pennsyl- 
vania station, at one time and another, and the results 
are remarkal)ly uniform, all pointing to the advisability 
of allowing the corn to become quite well matured 
before cutting and shocking. In 189 1 Professor Hunt 
made three cuttings. The first was September i and 2, 
when the leaves and husks were green and the kernels 
mostly in the roasting ear stage. The second cutting 
was made September 25, when a few of the lower 
leaves were dead, but the husks were still green. The 
kernels on about three-fourths of the ears were dented. 
On some ears they were quite hard and on others still 
unglazed. The third cutting was made October 7 and 
8, when two-thirds of the leaves were dead and the 
kernels mostly hard. Fodder from these cuttings was 
carefully analyzed. The fodder was then fed to milch 
cows. The combined results of this investigation show 
that the most and best food for making butter was 
secured when the fodder was cut September 25. The 
yield of fodder w-as greatest when the com was cut 
after being well ripened. Fodder allowed to remain in 
the field ten to fifteen weeks after cutting lost twenty 
per cent in value. 

Taking into consideration all the Pennsylvania 
experiments along this line, Professor H. B. Armsby 
points out that corn should be allowed to mature pretty 
fully before cutting. Tn every experiment the amount 
of dry matter increased very rapidly after growth had 
apparently ceased. This increase takes place in the grain 
and consists of the storing up of starchy material and 
fat. Part of this comes from the aV and part of it from 
the leaves and stalks. Where early harvesting is desir- 
able less loss occurs by planting some of the large, rank 



HARVESTING I5I 

varieties of corn. Thick seeding gave a larger yield of 
feed than thin and the fodder was in better condition. 

Practically these same conclusions were arrived at 
in Maine. There it was found that mature corn con- 
tains much the larger proportion of the more valuable 
carboh\'drates — the sugars and starches. The starch 
especially increased, in some cases as much as fourteen 
per cent. The large-growing varieties from the west 
should, according to the Maine station, be harvested 
before they are quite mature, but flint corn should be 
allowed to stand until well ripened. 

Cutting and Shocking — After the important mat- 
ter of time of cutting has been decided, the next step is 
cutting and shocking the corn. Other things being 
equal, a large shock should be planned for, especially 
in the west, where the fodder is seldom housed. A 
shock sixteen hills square is the favorite in most sec- 
tions, although in some localities where the corn is very 
heavy a twelve-hill shock is the favorite. In the east 
and north shocks are seldom more than eight hills 
square. The climate also has something to do with 
the size of the shock. In the humid regions small 
shocks are not desirable. Care must be taken in putting 
them up. It seems most desirable to start the shock, 
cutting about one-fourth of the fodder, allowing it to 
dry out thoroughly, then putting on another fourth, 
and continuing until the shock is completed, allowing 
at least one day to elapse between each cutting. If, 
however, rain comes during the cutting, much more of 
the fodder will be injured. Great care must be exer- 
cised in standing corn about the shock, so that the 
shock will not twist or blow down. This can be ac- 
complished by care in starting. Set the armfuls or 
bundles down firmly and press the tops together. 
Place the butts well out from the base, and when the 



152 THE BOOK OF CORN 

shock is completed tie at the top lightly with a stalk 
of green corn or a cord. 

The corn binder is coming into use rapidly, 
some big" farmers operating as many as ten at one time. 
They are so constructed that corn can be handled even 
though it be badly blown down. It operates best in 
corn of medium size. The cost of twine is largely off- 
set by the smaller amount of labor required for shock- 
ing and hauling. Where the crop is on the green order 
there is more danger of it molding under the band 
when placed in the shock than if cut by hand. If it 
is not practicable to have a corn binder, many of the 
numerous drag cutters in the form of a sled with cut- 
ting knives on each side answer very well and save 
much hard work. They are simple and can be con- 
structed at home with the aid of a blacksmith. The 
old-fashioned method of cutting with a hand knife still 
obtains in many places. 

The corn binder (Fig 42) is cutting corn sixteen 
feet high and doing good work. Where the stalks 
stand up well and the field is free from w^eeds the 
binder will cut and handle corn of almost any size. 
Corn of medium hight it will take care of even when 
badly down, provided the stalks do not lean in the 
direction the machine is being driven. Two strong 
horses find no difficulty in drawing the binder all dav. 

Storing tJie Fodder — The common practice in the 
corn belt is to let the fodder remain in the field until 
wanted. This results in a loss of about twentv per cent, 
depending upon the weather, size of the shock, etc. 
Whore large shocks have been made this loss, of 
course, is reduced to the minimum. Stacking corn 
fodder after it has been thoroughly dried is common 
where small quantities are to be taken care of. This 
also is true in the older states, where the fodder is 
stored in the barn. 



HARVESTING 



153 



Use of Shredder — Tn the big" com growing sec- 
tions the fodder shredder and husker is becoming more 




Fig 43— Filling Silo with Blower 

This is the very latest in silo filling machinery. A powerful fan drives the 
cut cornstalks through the Innaf hlowpipe into the silo. It is as much superior 
to the old style of elevator as the wind stacker of the modern thresher is to 
the old bell stacker. By usinij a flexible spout at the upper end, the cut corn 
can be directed to any part of the silo. There are no belts and pulleys to get out 
of order. It is for sale by all the leading manufacturers of silo machinery. 

and more popular. The first objection to this machine 
was that there was difficulty in keeping the shredded 



154 fTHE BOOK OF CORN 

fodder. The tendency to ini)l(l :S^pn|sliWiilh greater 
than in hays and other kin4jrof'r()u_i;h' feed. It has 
been determined, however, that this difficulty can be 
remedied by thorough curing. For instance, an exam- 
ination of a lot of hay and a lot of fodder would indi- 
cate that they contain about the same amount of mois- 
ture. Analysis will show, however, that the fodder 
contains fifteen to twenty per cent more. There was 
some loss of shredded fodder when the machines were 
first placed on the market. Of late there has been but 
little com])laint. Another drawback is the cost of oper- 
ating the shredders. In many localities this is so high 
as to be almost prohibitive, but with improved machin- 
ery and a better acquaintance with the shredded fodder 
this difficulty will gradually disappear. The common 
practice in most localities is to charge one dollar to 
one dollar and a half an hour, or one dollar to two dol- 
lars ])er acre. The husked corn is run into wagons and 
taken to market, while the fodder is run into a barn or 
a baling press. 

Extensive experiments by practical feeders and 
experiment stations indicate that unhusked fodder is 
the most palatable. There is an aroma about the enr 
taken direct from the husk l)y the animal that is lost if 
it is removed and stored in a crib. Not only does the 
animal like the feed better, but a larger amount is 
consumed and gains are more rapid. Where large- 
eared varieties are grown it may be necessary to break 
the ears before giving to cattle, but this should be done 
just before feeding. This is much more widely recog- 
nized by dairymen and by feeders than ton vears ago. 

HUSKING STANDING CORN 

By far the most serious task in raising corn is 
the matter of husking it in tlie field. Up to date no 
practical machine adapted to this pm"pose has ap- 



156 THE BOOK OF CORN 

peared. Many have been tried but they iisnally fall 
short in some important particular. None of them has 
become popular, and a fortune awaits the man who 
perfects a thorou^^hly practical corn busker, which 
will be as successful relatively as the modern busker 
is for corn fodder. 

IV hen corn is to be husked dircet from the stand- 
\\\^ stalk it should be allowed to mature quite thor- 
.oug-hly. particularly if it is of a variety with larq-e ears 
and lar^e cobs containing- a high percentage of moist- 
ure. This must be determined by examination. Some 
seasons husking begins the latter part of September in 
northern latitudes, while in others it is not safe to 
begin husking until the middle or end of October. 
The time will also depend largely upon the varietv. 
Early maturing kinds have small ears and small cobs 
and they can be husked much earlier than late matur- 
ing and large ear varieties. Corn wdien first placed in 
the crib -contains thirteen to thirty-five or forty per cent 
of moisture. 

A common practice in the great corn states is 
to start through the field marking a "down" row. 
Husk two rows to the left of the w^agon and the one 
row that is under it. Go around a good-sized '"land" 
in this manner. The next time through the field and 
every succeeding time thereafter have the team straddle 
the last husked row next the corn that has not been 
husked. This will prevent the necessity of picking up 
a down row each time and will enable the busker to 
do his best work. The ordinary wagon box will hold 
from twenty-five to thirty bushels. Where the com 
is exceptionally good a skillful busker will be able 
to more than fill one wagon box in half a day. The 
capacity of a box may be increased by putting on addi- 
tional sideboards which any farmer can make himself. 
On the right side of the wagon box it is desirable to 



HARVESTING 157 

place one or two extra boards to act as bump boards. 
The husker need not then use so much care in throw- 
ing in his com, which will enable him to do more work. 
A g^ood husker so gauges the distance from the row 
to the wagon box that it is not necessary for him to 
look where he throws the ear. If seed corn is to be 
selected at this time place a box or barrel in one end 
of the wagon and into it throw all the ears from strong 
vigorous stalks, provided they come near the desired 
type. When unloading throw out all soft, partially 
rotted or smutted ears and feed at once to cattle. It 
is much better to look after this carefully than to run 
the risk of a bad ear spoiling a lot of corn in its imme- 
diate vicinity. 

As soon as the husking is started the work should 
be pushed as rapidly as possible, for the corn ought 
to be out of the field by Thanksgiving time. Compar- 
atively good weather frequently prevails up to Christ- 
mas, but there are always some stormy days which 
make it difficult to get the corn out and very fre- 
quently result in loss. If corn is in the field until 
Christmas there is very little likelihood of getting it 
out until spring opens. This is \ery bad farming, as 
great loss is sure to follow. Get all other farm work 
out of the way before husking begins, then devote all 
the time to this work. Other things can wait, but 
this cannot. When the husks are loose, the corn dry 
and ears large, one man can easily husk fifty to fifty- 
five bushels a day. Some men can accomplish much 
more and many much less. Husking thirty-five to 
forty-five acres during one autumn is enough for one 
man, and he must not have too many chores to do in 
order to get through to good advantage. An attempt 
to husk more will usually extend the work into cold, 
snowv weather. 



158 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



The illnstration (Figf 44) sliows a corn hiiskin;-^ 
machine invented hy J. L. Locke of Nebraska and 
patented September 11, 1901. It has been g-iven fair 
trial and the inventor is much pleased with its work. 
Just what its future will be, time and further testin.cj 
will determine. The busker is comparatively simple 
and is operated by one man. By means of two large 
spiral coils working on either side of an elevator which 
projects beyond the wagon tongue, the corn is gath- 
ered from the ground or from the stack and elevated 
into the wagon. The illustration shows one of these 




Fig 45— Rail Corn Cribs 

In Mcl.ean countv, Illinois 



coils uncovered. The ears are conveyed to busker 
rolls in the front part of the wagon bed, where the 
husks are removed and by means of a blower trans- 
ferred through a blowpipe to a burlap bag in the rear, 
large enough for holding the husks from one load of 
ears. The ears are deposited in the wagon bed. The 
machinery is comparatively light and can be handled 
easily by one team. The busker will fit any wagon 
box from thirty-two to thirty-six inches deep and 
weighs about seven hundred pounds. After another 



HARVESTING 159 

season's testing, the machine will be put on the market 
provided it continues to give satisfaction. The in- 
ventor has been working on it for about fifteen years. 

THE CRIBS TO USE 

Suitable cribs are important where com is to be 
held for feeding or for higher prices. The rather 
careless methods in vogue in many of the western 
states are to be discouraged. For instance, in many 
localities rail pens are used, especially for the surplus 
corn. These will fairly well answer the purpose pro- 
vided they have good bottoms, are built well off the 
ground and are carefully covered as soon as filled. As 
a general rule they are left uncovered until some con- 
venient season and very frequently heavy rains fall. In 
any event, the top layers are badly bleached and some- 
times more seriously damaged, while occasionally the 
cribs "take water," resulting in rotten and moldy ears. 
Of course, most farmers have permanent covered cribs 
which are perfectly safe. These are somewhat more 
expensive than the temporary rail cribs, but when the 
corn is once in them there is little or no danger of its 
spoiling. The loss from rats and mice can be pre- 
vented to a certain extent by building cribs well off 
the ground, say eighteen to twenty inches, placing 
inverted tin pans on top of the pillars, or bands of 
flaring tin about them near the top. 

The most satisfactory storage place for unshelled 
corn is the double crib with a covered passageway 
between. This is made of pine lumber. The frame 
is made of the usual sills, two by eight joists, two by 
four studding, two by four rafters, one by four boards 
for siding and the roof shingled or covered with iron 
roofing. The boards used for siding must be at least 
two inches apart so as to permit free circulation of air. 



l60 THE BOOK OF CORN 

The corn is kept in these cribs until ready for use or 
for sale. If sold it may be hauled to the elevator in 
the ear, or, what is much better, is shelled at home 
where the cobs can be used as firewood and the grain 
more easily taken to market. 

SHRINKAGE OF EAR CORN 

The time to sell depends somewhat upon the 
amount of shrinkage from the time the corn is husked 
until it is sent to the elevator. This matter of shrink- 
age is not well understood, and varies greatly with the 
season, the character of the crop, the character of the 
crib in which it is stored, etc. A number of tests have 
been made by farmers and by experiment stations,. 
At the Michigan experiment station in 1896 corn was 
husked October 3 to 5. By the middle of February the 
shrinkage amounted to thirty per cent. This was, of 
course, an extreme case. In another test at the same 
station corn was husked October 21 and shrank eleven 
per cent by January 31, while well-cured corn in Van 
Buren county, Michigan, shrank only three per cent 
from the time of husking until January 7. At the Iowa 
experiment station corn was placed in a crib set on 
scales and the decrease noted from month to month ; 
this test was continued for three years. The first year 
the shrinkage was twenty per cent, the second year a 
shrinkage of only nine per cent was noted, and the 
third year fifteen and eight-tenths per cent. The aver- 
age about fifteen per cent. At the Illinois experiment 
station one thousand bushels of com lost eleven and 
one-half per cent from the time it was cut until it was 
thoroughly air dried. This is the result of a three 
years' test. A Tippecanoe county (Ohio) farmer placed 
nineteen thousand seven hundred and one pounds of 
white corn in a crib December 15. 1894. By August 
16, 1895, it lost fifteen and one-half per cent. 



HARVESTING 



i6i 



In Christian county, Illinois, Messrs Ricks, Pro- 
vine & Maxon placed sixteen thousand one hundred 
and fifty-five bushels of corn in an ordinary covered 
crib during;- the autumn of 1895. The corn was sold 
the following- July, the shrinkage amounting to seven 
and three-fourths per cent. The corn was in fair crib- 
bing condition when husked, but the winter and spring 
following were unusually dry. 

In the fall of 1897 seven thousand one hundred and 
six bushels were cribbed, and sold in July, 1900, and 
the shrinkage was three hundred and fifty bushels, or 
slightly over four and nine-tenths per cent. In 1900 




Fig 46-ExceIIent Rat=Proof Corn Crib 

twelve thousand two hundred and twenty-eight bushels 
were cribbed, and the shrinkage by the next fall 
amounted to four hundred and fifty-three bushels, or 
slightly over three and seven-tenths per cent. Mr 
Maxon states that the corn in 1899 was very poor, in 
fact the poorest ever raised on that tract, but in 1900 
the crop was of excellent quality, although the ears 
were not large. He believes that his neighbors con- 
sider his corn shrinkage very small. This may be due 
to his manner of criljbing it and to the quality of the 
com. He has a double crib two hundred and fifty feet 
long which holds twenty thousand bushels. The com 
is kept quite dry. 



l62 THE HOOK OF CORN 

In 1881 Dr Manley Miles made some tests in 
IVIichigan and found that from husking time until the 
succeeding spring the shrinkage amounted to a little 
over fifteen per cent. In Kentucky a number of farm- 
ers pay particular attention to shrinkage and they find 
it ranges from seven to eighteen per cent. A number 
of tests have also been made by experiment stations to 
determine the amount of shrinkage after the corn has 
been shelled. In most of the tests shelled corn shrank 
seven and one-half per cent during five months. 

THE LATEST IN CORN HARVESTING MACHINERY 

is the corn harvester and shocker. It consists of a 
corn binder in which the binding apparatus is replaced 
with a platform and windlass. The corn is cut but not 
b<^mid. It collects on the platform until a shock of the 
desired size is secured. The machine is then stopped, 
the shock tied by hand, the windlass ropes adjusted 
and the shock deposited on the ground in an upright 
position. The shocks are necessarily small. This is 
a very satisfactory method of cutting corn where the 
corn is to be husked as soon as dry and the fodder put 
into larger shocks. If to be fed unhuske^d it is more 
economical to use the binder as the work can be done 
more rapidly. 



CHAPTER XI 

aiulture (iutai&r tijp (Horn Idt 

'^z"^' SSENTIAL variation from northern and west 
^K' ern custom over probably four-fifths of the 
^^^ corn planting- area of the south is twofold : In 
mode of planting and in method of harvesting. 
The one naturally follows more or less upon the heels 
of the other, although events have recently proved that 
the practice of harvesting may be made, to a great 
extent, independent of both the system pursued in 
planting and of intercultural methods. 

SOUTHERN METHODS AND PRACTICES 

In plan is noted the first important divergence : 
wide rows and a reduction of stand, generally to one 
stalk per hill. This method obtains largely in all up- 
land planting from the Virginia and Tennessee lines 
southward, and a departure therefrom is a distinct 
exception. Even in these states there are portions 
where the southern method is exclusively followed, 
particularly in the Freestone districts ; and, per contra, 
farther south there are regions, especially in western 
North Carolina, northwest Georgia and north Ala- 
bama, where the northern system has always been 
practiced. 

Spacing, both as to row and hill, greatly varies. 
The thinner and poorer the soil the wider the rows are 
stretched, until a maximum of six feet (rarely six and 
one-half or seven) is attained in the sandy pine barrens 
or on the red-galled uplands of the middle south. 
Three feet apart in the row is generally the distance 



164 THE COOK OF CORN 

fixed for tlic hills, thoui^h this, too, sometimes varies. 
The range covered will be found about as follows: Six 
by three, maximum; five by three to four and one-half 
by three, average ; four by four, occasionally ; four by 
three (extending in rare instances to four by two and 
one-half), minimum. Without the precaution of care- 
fully gauging the capacity of each separate land area 
and fixing his distances for planting to correspond, the 
southern corn grower is liable to invite serious disaster. 

There must be noted, in explanation of the orig- 
inal cause for this deviation from accepted method, two 
things: First, that the cornstalk at the south (by rea- 
son of the difference in selected varieties and also from 
climatic and morphological causes) is much larger and 
more robust than that at the north on the same grade of 
soil or in proportion to yield of grain ; and second, that 
at the critical period of pollination there is always a 
want of soil moisture to be feared, since the rainfall at 
the south is more variable. Consequently, land that at 
the north would sustain and profitably fruit say seven 
thousand two hundred and eighty stalks to the acre, 
would at the south be taxed to the utmost to success- 
fully develop half that number. Yet the gross weight 
of the stover from both acres would be, perhaps, prac- 
tically the same, although the southern plat, fertility 
being equal, would yield a lower return in grain, an 
unavoidable inequality which nature has somehow seen 
fit to impose. 

For botfoni laud of course inuch greater crowd- 
ing than that scheduled for upland is permissible, and 
invariably utilized — soil conditions more nearly paral- 
leling those of the great corn areas of the west. The 
rows are seldom or never contracted to less than four 
feet, but the hills vary from one and one-half to two 
feet, and will sometimes, at the latter distance, contain 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 



165 



two stalks. Occasionally rich upland admits of the 
same treatment as that practiced with bottoms. 

Regarding- methods, there is one distinctive feature 
of difference to be marked in certain sections where 
planting in the water furrow is followed. Ordinarily, 
the land is broken, and with the careful cultivator har- 
rowed or fined, and the rows, whatever the distance, 
are run out with a shovel plow, on the level, fertilizer 
distributed, and mixed with a scooter furrow, and the 
corn planted therein, either with a dropper or by hand. 

But in the peculiar 
practice referred to 
the land is generally 
broken by bedding 
to the center — to 
every other row in 
three feet cotton 
land, or to the old 
furrow in corn 
land. This leaves 
a deep water fur- 
row in the new 
middle. In this 
water furrow the 




Fig 47— Wagon Box Attachment 

For ease in unloadinsj corn, the device here 
illustrated may be readily made and attached 
to rear end of wagon box so that shoveling 
may begin at once upon reaching the crib. 
Make a sloping Hoor, a, a few feet long, with 
crosspieces on the lower side at /; and c. This 
Hoor is as wide as the outside of the wagon box. 
Then pnt on short sides nailed securely to this 
sloping floor, and extending forward a tew 
inches past the sides olthe box and on the out- 
side of it. Take out the end gate and gate rods com is olautcd aud 
and pnt on this attachment, securing it in place . "^ 

with four bolts. The lower crosspiece, c, should thc Soil graduallv 
extend out a little beyond the wagon bed on 
each side and come down against it, the slop- 
ing floor resting on the bottom of tlie bed an 
inch or two from the back end. The attach- 
ment can also be fastened with stout hooks and 
staples. 



worked 
ring 
leaving 
a sra i n 



back du- 
cultivation, 
the surface 

practically 



level, to insure sufficient moisture for the roots. The 
plan is sometimes reversed on very flat, poorly drained 
land, and the corn planted on the bed thus formed. 

The Dunton sysfcni, originated by a progressive 
farmer, H. J. Dunton of Smyrna. Georgia, has met with 
varying favor and success in different localities. The 



l66 THE BOOK OF CORN 

orig-inator has followed it for years and practically 
illustrates its efficiency. The system consists in first 
determining the capacity of the land as to spacing, 
which may be found for a given locality, let us say, 
five by three feet, one stalk to the hill. The hills, by 
Dunton's method, are then located double that distance 
apart, or six feet in the row, but two stalks are left in 
the hill, instead of one. The claim is advanced that a 
maximum yield is thereby rendered more certain, on 
the theory that the root system of a hill, on reaching 
out laterally for plant food in all directions, soon inter- 
laces with that of its neighbor, where the hills are 
spaced a short distance, as three feet apart ; and, as the 
fertilizer* is distributed in a continuous stream down 
the row, the foraging capillaries would by earing time 
have exhausted the available supply. Were the hills 
spaced six feet apart, the roots, having to travel twice 
as far. would not have drained the entire reservoir of 
plant food at this critical period, and the plant would 
therefore have a surplus upon which to draw when 
most needed. Two stalks are left in each hill to equal- 
ize the total yield by giving the plat the maximum 
niunber it can profitably sustain imder the calculated 
spacing of five by three, which at five by six would evi- 
dentlv be reduced bv one-half with only one stalk to 
the hill. 

The theory seems plausible enough, and is stren- 
uously upheld by those who practice it ; but it must be 
admitted that the results of careful tests at the Georgia 
experiment station do not justify it. and tend to con- 
firm the original (and general) theory that the more 
nearly the individual ])lants are equidistant from ad- 
jacent plants, the better the result. 

•Commercial fertilizer, of course; the theory would not obtain 

where the land was iniproveil ami the soil was uniformly fertile in 

every jiortion, but only where the crop depended on an annually re- 
ceived supply. 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 167 

The double rozv or alternating method of spac- 
ing has occasionally been successfully employed at the 
south, the hills being spaced on either side of the 
manured furrow, three or four feet apart from each 
other, on the same side of the row, and so alternating 
as to reduce the diagonal line between them to half that 
distance. The rows vary in width from six to seven 
feet from center to center. A row of cowpeas always 
occupies the middles. This method of spacing has 
never particularly commended itself. 

The Coivpea in Corn Land — The cowpea is, at the 
south, the inseparable companion of the corn plant, and 
altogether the most valuable legume for restorative 
purposes known to the agriculturist of any land. It 
is planted either in the middles between the corn rows 
and cultivated with the crop ; dropped alternately with 
the corn between the hills, or sown broadcast on laying 
by. It thus serves the double purpose of furnishing its 
quota of valuable food material at harvest time, either 
in peas or vines, and of economically improving the 
soil — physically, by the organic matter which its struc- 
ture supplies, and chemically, by the enormous store of 
nitrogen fixed by its root system. 

But the most important function or servitude of 
the cowpea consists in the part it plays in the now well 
recognized triennial rotation ^system, by means of which 
southern agriculture is gradually being elevated to a 
higher and more remunerative plane. Under this sys- 
tem corn is made to follow cotton, small grain (oats or 
wheat) to succeed corn, and after the grain is har- 
vested in June the area is broadcast with cowpeas, 
which are cut in September and converted into either 
hay or silage, the stubble only remaining to accom- 
plish the work of renovation. This, however, it does 
so effectually that thereby an amount of organic matter 
and potential nitrogen is supplied, acquired after ninety 



1 68 THE BOOK OF CORN 

days' growth from the seed, greater in quantity and 
vahie than that contrihuted hy a two-year-old clover 
crop at the north. It is therefore not surprising that 
the cowpea should be regarded as the sheet anchor of 
the southern farmer. Indeed it is due in great measure 
to the impression that the northern plan of harvesting 
corn would largely interfere with the accompanying 
cowpea crop that the system has been so slow in com- 
mending itself to the southern planter. 

HARVESTING IN THE SOUTH 

The Old JVay — Supposedly necessitated by the 
differing climatic conditions of the sections, it was gen- 
erally deemed impossible, until definitely proved other- 
wise, to harvest the southern corn crop in the northern 
manner : First, because it was thought that their ear- 
lier maturity forced the harvesting of the blades (tech- 
nically "fodder" at the south) if utilized at all, as an 
additional and separate operation to the subsequent 
"shocking" process, since the hotter svms were pre- 
sumed to parch them prematurely. No one for a 
moment entertained the idea that the entire stalk could 
be cut and cured soon enough to preserve the nutritive 
value of the blades without ruinous loss from the 
shrinkage of the grain in the ear. Secondly, if the 
blades were stripped separately and the naked stalk 
and ear left, there was no temptation in the stalk itself, 
valueless before the advent of the shredder, on account 
of its size and coarseness, to induce its preservation. 
Thirdly, because the southern stalks were presumed 
to be too large and succulent to respond without injur- 
ious fermentation to the curing process. Hence 
originated the three following primary differences in 
practice under the old system. 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 169 

1. In saving fodder, details consist in stripping, 
by hand, the entire stalk of its blades on their maturity ; 
that is, at as late a date as possible consistent with the 
prevention of the firing or parching of the blades them- 
selves, in order to utilize their function as foliage to 
the last moment, and prevent subsequent shrinking of 
the grain on the ear. Fodder pulling is effected, ac- 
cording to latitude and season, from the first of August 
to the middle or even the last of September. Wl.en the 
operator's hands are full of blades and he can hold no 
more the quantity is termed a "hand," and is bound 
rapidly with a twist and hung on a broken stalk to cure. 
On gathering a day or so later, from three to four 
hands, usually four, form a "bundle," which is also 
bound with a few twisted blades. The bundle weighs 
from one and three-fourths to two pounds, and forms 
the staple "roughage" of southern draft stock. There 
is nothing, indeed, more palatable or wholesome and 
little that is more nutritious. Its necessary cost is its 
chief objection. 

2. Stripping the lower stalk to the ear, or to the 
first ear, if more than one, and leaving the blades on the 
upper stalk intact to complete the development of the 
grain, is another practice. Of course, much material 
is thereby lost, and as has been recently proved, with- 
out adequate return unless the ear is at the time 
abnormally immature. 

3. Stripping the lower stalk as before but cutting 
ofT the upper stalk and shocking the tips, until cured, 
for rough cattle feed, was practiced largely. This is 
more logical and rational. 

In handling, the ear left in the field pendent, 
in situ, from the stalk, until fully mature, under 
improvident management or inferior market facilities, 
is frequently "slip-shucked" and carted to barn or crib. 
More thrifty husbandry pulls shuck and all. In either 



170 THE BOOK OF COPN 

case the corn is generally stored in the shuck, contrary^ 
of course, to the northern and western custom, and 
husked as needed for daily consumption, or, as in ante- 
bellum days, in the periodical and i)ictures{iue "corn 
shuckini^s" of song and story. Hiesc, however, are 
almost traditionary. The times have changed and 
more ])ractical, if less romantic conditions prevail. 

What forms under the new practice the great bulk 
of the conserved stover, was, and under old methods 
still is, lost, except for the casual benefit yielded to the 
soil by its gradually decomposing organic matter. Left 
standing in the field it was (at best) in i)reparation 
for the ensuing crop, threshed down and turned under 
on breaking the land. ATore commonly, however, haste 
and improvidence prevail, and the stalks are wind- 
rowed or piled, and burned incontinently, only their 
mineral content of plant food availing a return, and 
even that irregularly distril)uted or concentrated in the 
ash pile. Surely there can exist no vestige of regret 
that at length the southern public has awakened from 
its lethargy and is now keenly alive to the fact that 
there is a saving alternative. 

The Nc-iV Way — Light out of darkness is due to 
the advent of the corn shredder. Its mission has just 
begun, but the beginning is good and its future prog- 
ress will be sweeping, complete, triumphant. It is im- 
possible, whatever the connection, to ignore the value 
of the shredder, the part it bears and the work it is 
doing, and has to do, as a factor in the progress and 
advancement of southern agricidturc. 

While the silo has accomplisbe(l much, the shredder 
is destined to effect even more. Its importance cannot 
be overestimated, for it is revolutionizing quietly, but 
effectually, an enormous industry in a dozen common- 
wealths. What it means in one state, alone, of the 
twelve, and for one season, let the following statement 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT I7I 

of Director R. J. Redding, of the Georgia experiment 
station, attest: After showing (in bulletin 39) the 
average proportion of shredded corn hay to the bushel 
of grain to be ninety pounds, and of naked stalks about 
forty-two pounds, or twenty-eight hundred pounds of 
corn hay (of which thirteen hundred pounds is supplied 
bv the stalksr) to every thirty-one bushels of grain, the 
average yield per acre of the particular crop tested, 
Du'ector Redding says : 

"This 1300 pounds represents the food loss for every 31 
bushels of shelled corn. The corn crop of Georgia, for con- 
venience, may be stated at 31,000,000 bushels, sometimes less, 
often more. Then, at 1300 pounds of corn hay, heretofore 
not saved, for every 31 bushels of corn, the total loss in the 
state would be 1300X1,000,000=1.300,000,000 (thirteen hundred 
millions of pounds), or 650,000 tons of corn hay. This is a 
very good food and worth at least $10 a ton, or a total of 
$6,500,000. This is about enough to pay for all the commer- 
cial fertilizers used in Georgia in one year. This may be con- 
sidered a remarkable statement, and it will no doubt surprise 
many a farmer who has not thought about it and who has, 
perhaps, imagined that he has been very saving and eco- 
nomical." 

Elsewhere he states that this saving would ht 
equivalent to a rise in price of over six dollars per bale 
for the entire cotton crop of the state, or would furnish 
each head of draft stock and every milch cow in Geor- 
gia more than six pounds of good provender per day 
for the entire year. All this for one state, only ; when 
extended to include the entire south, the aggregate be- 
comes, indeed, enormous. Fortunately the lesson these 
figures carry is now being earnestly and enthusiastically 
taught — aptly and thankfully received. Reawakened 
hope has induced renewed energ\' and effort, and the 
result will soon be made apparent by the visibly in- 
creased thrift and prosperity of the entire section. 

Many workers are contributing diligently, intelli- 
gently and successfully to the mission of the shredder, 
and each deserves his meed of praise, not only for what 



1/2 THE ROOK OF CORN 

lie is doing-, but for what he has done. Yet to Director 
Redding^, if to anyone, should be given the chief 
credit for the initial steps leading to the present 
active metamorphosis in corn culture at the south. The 
Georgia experiment station first practically established 
the value of the shredder and exploited its principal 
product, corn hay, by proving incontestably that the 
anticipated and dreaded shrinkage of grain upon the 
ear was a mere phantom of the imagination, amounting 
at most, to some two bushels per acre in a yield of 
thirty-odd, with a consequent loss of one dollar, ofifset 
by a gain of more than six dollars in the stalks alone, 
exclusive of the saving resulting from the substitution 
of the new for the old way in the manipulation of the 
blades and shocks — certainly some four dollars addi- 
tional per acre. The Georgia station and its director 
must also be credited with the chief part in exploiting 
the "triennial rotation system," and impressing its im- 
portance upon the public. 

The large size of the stalk in southern varieties of 
corn necessitates a difference of procedure from the 
northern method in one detail — shocking. It forces 
the employment of the "grasshopper," a light wooden 
frame, some five feet high, like a capital A, with one or 
two more cross-slats. From the apex of the A extends 
an eight-foot scantling diagonally to the ground. This 
simple apparatus, moved about the field by the 
shockers, materially assists the process of bunching 
and binding, the workmen mounting it to arrange and 
tie the stalks. 

One Acre Yielded 2f^f^ Bushels — Tn considering^ 
southern methods of growing corn it is interesting to 
note briefly the record of Z. J. Drake of Marlborough 
County, South Carolina, who produced the grand pviie 
crop in the American Af;riculfurist contest conducted 
in 1889. From a single acre Mr Drake grew two hun- 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 1 73 

dred and fifty-five bushels slielled corn, or two hun- 
dred and thirty-nine bushels crib cured corn. 

Late in February one thousand bushels stable 
manure and five hundred pounds each of manipulated 
jil^uano, cottonseed meal and kainit were broadcasted on 
the acre and then plowed under. Following the plow 
six hundred bushels whole cottonseed were strewn in 
the furrows. A subsoil plow was run through a depth 
of twelve inches. The land was well harrowed and the 
rows planted alternately INIarch 2, three and six feet 
apart. An improved strain of the common Gourd 
variety of southern white dent corn was planted, five 
or six kernels being dropped to each foot of the row. 
It was planted in the rows five inches deep but covered 
only one inch. At the first hoeing the plants were 
thinned to one stalk every five or six inches, the miss- 
ing spots replanted. On April 20 the six-foot spaces 
were plowed and a mixture composed of two hundred 
pounds each guano, kainit, cottonseed meal, acid phos- 
phate and bone was applied and hoed in. On May 
15 the three-foot spaces were plowed, three hundred 
pounds nitrate soda sown and worked in. On May 25 
two hundred pounds guano were applied in the wide 
spaces. Another application of five hundred pounds 
guano, cottonseed meal and kainit was put on June 8, 
and one hundred pounds nitrate soda June 11. The 
crop was harvested November 25, before several repu- 
table witnesses. It yielded seventeen thousand four 
hundred and seven pounds of corn in the ear, of which 
one hundred and forty pounds was soft corn. Several 
tests showed that one hundred pounds ear corn yielded 
eighty-two pounds shelled corn, which made the yield 
two hundred and fifty-four bushels forty-nine pounds 
of shelled corn at fifty-six pounds to the bushel, which, 
kiln-dried, to contain only ten per cent water, would 
contain two hundred and thirty-nine bushels. 



T74 THE BOOK OF CORN 

CULTURE IN NEW ENGLAND AND TTIE EAST GENERALLY 

New England offers varied conditions for the 
growth of the corn crop. In the most northern por- 
tions of Vermont, New Hampshire, and central Maine, 
there are but ninety to one hundred days free from 
frost, so that only the earliest maturing kinds of flint 
corn can be successfully grown. In the southern por- 
tion with one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five 
days free from frost, there is no trouble in maturing 
all of the flint varieties and many of the dent sorts. 
Owing to the great expense formerly attached to grow- 
ing corn by the old hand methods, this crop fell some- 
what into disrepute and the drift of agricultural opin- 
ion from 1865 to 1875, or later, was that this crop 
could not be grown with profit, either because of the 
cheaply produced and transported western product, 
or because of the demand of our markets for supplies 
in producing which the west could not compete, lliere- 
fore, it was considered a stroke of good policy to grow 
the other products and buy the corn needed for home 
consumption. Since 1875, this opinion has been mate- 
rially modified until it is now generally conceded that 
corn is one of the most profitable crops farmers can 
produce. 

Returning Favor for Field Corn — Silage methods 
had made the fodder part of the crop so valuable as 
to pay thef cost of cultivation, while at the west it had 
little value. The rough and rugged character of most 
of New England farm land precludes the economical 
use of the methods and machinery employed in the 
corn belt. Small farms, small fields, short rows, a thin 
soil often filled with loose and fast stones makes it im- 
practicable to use two-horse cultivators and planters. 
The old time method of planting by hand and covering 



176 THE BOOK OF CORN 

with a hoe, as well as of hoeing the corn and plowing 
it, has gone by, and in its place have come the hand 
and one-horse planter, the weeder and one-horse cul- 
tivator. 

The heavy crops, some cwo hundred bushels ears 
per acre, are generally grown upon the inverted sod of 
mowing fields. Good corn, although not so many 
bushels per acre, is produced upon old, wornout pas- 
ture land. This land is best and most economically 
prepared by the cut and cover system of plowing any 
time during the summer. If time will be valuable the 
following spring, harrow down the furrows in October 
and crossplow in a dressing of good manure. If the 
manure cannot be afforded, then simply crossplow and 
in the spring use half a ton per acre of superjihosphite, 
sowing about six hundred pounds, to be harrowed in. 
and put the balance in drill. With this outlay and good 
cultivation, from one hundred and thirty to one hun- 
dred and forty bushels cars and about two and one-half 
tons fodder per acre can be secured. If manured in the 
fall, harrow down well the following spring and a 
little phosphate in the drill will give about the same 
result. 

Early Growth Best in the East — The corn plant 
secures its growth during the first portion of the 
season ; the latter portion of the season being utilized 
in maturing the crop. The seed l)ed should be so pre- 
pared as to secure the maximum fertility, moisture and 
temperature in conjunction, hence shallow plowing is 
usually followed as leaving tlic most fertile portions 
near the surface where the rains penetrate and where 
the sun exerts the greatest power. The depth of plow- 
ing will vary with the soil and the season, but an aver- 
age depth of about five inches is usually followed for 
spring plowing. 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT I77 

The best soil for corn is a strong, sandy loam or 
an alluvial soil, but it can be grown successfully on any 
soil where water does not stand between its particles 
within eight or ten inches of the surface. 

Most New England soils, especially those of clayey 
formation, can be handled better in the fall than 
in the spring. It gives the air and frost a longer time 
to work on the particles ; in other words, there is a 
longer time for unavailable plant food to be changed 
into the available form. Gravelly soils and those that 
leach easily by rains, perhaps can better be plowed in 
the spring. Tlicy dry off readily and planting is never 
materially delayed. When the soil is dry in spring the 
disk and spring-tooth harrows should be used, but do 
not hurry. It will take another freeze to remedy the 
evil done by plowing or harrowing a wet soil. Soil 
that has been plowed in the fall is usually compacted 
and hardened by spring. In this case replowing is 
advisable. 

PLANTING AND CULTIVATING 

The harrowing should be thorough and should 
follow the plowing, precede the application of manure 
and fertilizer and again follow the application of the 
fertilizer elements. On sod ground, a disk or cutaway 
harrow does by far the best work. 

Corn is called a gross feeder and responds quickly 
to heavy feeding if the elements are presented in solu- 
ble form. Best results arc obtamed by broadcasting 
the fertilizer or manure after plowing and harrowing in 
thoroughly, but probably the majority of farmers still 
follow the practice of drawing out the manure and 
spreading it before plowing. On lands which are sub- 
ject to washing, the manure should be incorporated 
with the soil as quickly as possible after being put on. 
The amount- used per acre varies greatly with character 



178 THE BOOK OF CORN 

of the soil and the quantity available. Five cords of 
jj^ood yard manure per acre are sufficient, or six hun- 
dred to eight hundred pounds fertilizer. The quantity 
used, however, is governed by individual circum- 
stances. For bringing up thin and wornout soils, cow- 
peas or clovers may be used with advantage. These 
precede the corn crop. The cowpeas are plowed under 
in the fall and the clovers in the spring and chemical 
fertilizer is used with them. 

In planting, both the checkrow and drill systems 
are followed, the latter giving slightly the best yield on 
soils not too weedy. This method is also used largely 
where the crop is grown for fodder or for the silo. 
The checkrow system allows of cultivation both ways, 
and is almost invariably followed where the crop is 
grown for the grain. The rows vary in width from 
three to three and one-half and occasionally four feet, 
depending somewhat upon the variety and strength of 
the soil, the greater distance being used on thin soils 
and in large-growing kinds. Where corn is planted in 
drills the rows are commonly three and one-half feet 
and the kernels dropped from six inches to one foot in 
the row, although for fodder purposes it is planted 
thicker, yet great caution should be used that when in 
full growth it is not so thick as to shut out the free cir- 
culation of the air and the penetration of sunlight to the 
great mass of the stalks and leaves. Horse corn drills 
are much used and recommended because they dis- 
tribute fertilizer in the row at the same time of drop- 
uing the seed. This gives the corn a quick start and 
pushes it along during the early part of the season. 
Early planting is of great advantage, but the exact 
time of planting can only be governed by the neighbor- 
hood and the season. The middle of May in most 
seasons for southern New England is about right. 
The object of cultivation is threefold, viz, for till- 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 1 79 

a^e, to conserve moisture and to kill weeds. Many 
farmers, here as well as elsewhere, lose sight of the 
first two objects and cultivate merely to keep down the 
weeds. Soon after the corn is planted, and before it 
comes up, the fine steel-tooth weeder, a smoothing or 
straight-tooth spike harrow, is run over the field to 
break up the crust which may have formed and to kill 
the young weeds. This operation is repeated at inter- 
vals of a week until th-e corn is six to eight inches high, 
when the one-horse cultivator is commonly employed. 
If used frequently and before the weeds have taken 
strong foothold, the weeder is the cheapest and most 
thorough implement for cultivation in use at the pres- 
ent day. 

The hoe is seldom used by progressive farmers, 
except occasionally in small portions of the field which 
are very weedy. The one-horse cultivator, and, on 
some large farms, the two-horse spreading cultivator, is 
run through the corn both ways from two to four times 
until the corn reaches nearly to the horse's back. At 
the last cultivation, side wings are often put on the 
cultivator and a slight hilling given to cover up any 
weeds between the rows which may have escaped the 
cultivator. 

Some farmers make a practice of seeding grass in 
standing corn and are quite successful in obtaining a 
good stand. The last cultivation is level and then tim- 
othy and redtop are sown by hand or with a seed sower. 
The seed is raked in either by hand with a broad rake 
or by the use of a fine-tooth cultivator. The corn is cut 
low and the stubble rolled in the spring so as to give no 
interference to the mowing machine. Crimson clover 
is also usually sown before the last cultivation to plow 
under the next year as a green manure. The depth to 
which the cultivator is run should vary with the season 
and the soil. A good rule is to cultivate deeply in a 



l80 THD BOOK OF CORN 

wet season in order to dry out the land as much as pos- 
sible. In a drouth, cultivate shallow to secure a fine 
surface mulch. 

HARVESTING AND CURING 

The advent of the corn harvester, which cuts and 
binds the corn into small bundles at one operation, is 
working a revolution in the methods of harvesting 
corn. The harvester can be worked successfully on 
most rolling fields not too steep for mowers, reapers or 
other harvesting machinery. If the corn is to be put in 
the silo, the bundles are loaxled onto wagons and drawn 
to the cutter. If the corn is to be cured and husked, 
the bundles are carried together and set up in large 
shocks or "stooks," as commonly known in New Eng- 
land, being tied at the top with a stout twine or braid 
of straw. Where the harvester is not employed, har- 
vesting is commonly done by two methods. Upon this 
subject, Professor Levi Stockbridgc, ex-president of 
the Massachusetts agricultural college and an eminent 
authority, says : 

"Harvest by cutting: tlie fodder with the cars upon it, and 
secure the whole from injury by placing" it in compact stooks. 
It will cnre sound and hard in average seasons if it is har- 
vested with the stalk, when it is getting out of the milk, and 
the outer end of the kernel is beginning to glaze. As all the 
ears of a field will not be in the same condition at any given 
time, harvest when an average shows a surface too hard to be 
easily indented with the thuml) nail ; but at the same time 
regard must be had to the condition of the stalk and leaf, and 
the season. 

"Whether ripe or green, it rhould be secured in the stook 
before frost. The grain will not perfect itself after the leaves 
and stalks have been frozen ; and the fodder is nearly worth- 
less. When the leaves and stalks have changed their dark 
green to a straw color, the lower leaves and the tops of some 
of the upner ones will have begun to shrivel, the whole crop is 
in a condition to harvest with the greatest profit. The precise 
method piu-sued in harvesting will hv determined somewhat by 
the after-use which is to be made of the land, and the charac- 
ter of the help employed. If the field is to be sown to winter 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT lOI 

grain, and before the husking of corn and the removal of the 
stooks, the following method will be the easiest and quickest : 
Determine by the rows of corn the line on which the first row 
of stooks shall be placed, and then cut four rows of corn and 
lay them in one row of bundles of a size which a man can 
handle without extreme effort ; then on either side of the row 
of bundles cut four more rows of corn in the same manner, but 
lay them on the ground with the butts of the stalks toward 
the row first laid down. 

"Rye straw is the best material for binding these bundles, 
which should be done just as near the ears as possible; and, 
while the workman has the bundle in his hands, he should turn 
it over endwise, without lifting it, so that its tip lies where 
he can reach it and set it into the stook without any carrying. 
Proceed in this manner, putting twelve rows of corn and three 
rows of bundles into one row of stooks, until the field is fin- 
ished. This method will leave wide spaces between the stooks 
for plowing and sowing; and the strip on which the corn 
stands can be plowed afterward, which is preferable, if the 
crop is early. In cases where the corn land is not wanted 
for sowing, another method may be adopted, which avoids 
much hard labor, and secures the crop with greater dispatch, 
as follows : 

"Select the corn row on which the first row of stooks is 
to be placed, and bend over two hills of corn at the ears, and 
tie the tops together by turning them over each other in a 
half-knot; then cut two or four rows on each side of this, 
and without laying them on the ground, stand them, handful 
by handful, in a bracing position, evenly about the two hills 
which have been tied together. Proceed in this manner until 
the whole field is completed. In heavy corn it is sufficient to 
put five rows into one row of stooks. A two-legged 'wooden 
horse' is sometimes used to support the corn as it is cut; but 
in some respects it is not as good as the tied corn hills. In 
both these methods of harvesting, the stooks should be no 
larger than is necessary to enable them to stand firmly; should 
be so arranged as to permit a free passage of wind through 
them from the ears to the ground : and should have their tops 
turned over, and be securely bound so low as to strengthen and 
support them. 

"The grain will usually be ready for the bin when the 
leaves are dry, and the stalks dry for half the distance between 
the ears and ground. If the 'stub' stalks are quite dry, or con- 
tain visible juice, they will do no harm in the stack or mow, if 
the upper stalks and leaves are well dried. The method of 
husking must be governed somewhat by the weather, the floor- 
room in the barn for doing the work, and whether it is desired 
to save ihc husks separate from the rest of the fodder. The 
main thing in the process is to utilize time, and save expense, 
by handling the stalks as little as possible. This will be ac- 



l82 THE BOOK OF CORN 

complishod bj' picking the ears from the stalks in the fields, to 
be husked afterward, and then to cart the stalks directly to 
the storage room. Husking in the fields, with average hands, 
is objectionable, and more or less of the fodder will be wasted." 

Old Methods Displaced — The old tiicthod called 
"top stalking-," which was practiced by our forefathers 
and the Indians, is but little followed to-day. Theo- 
retically it consists of cutting ofT the sterile stalks at 
the ground and the fertile ones smoothly at the junc- 
tion of the «ar, when the stalks and leaves are quite 
green, and the grain jus^ commencing to harden; but 
practically it is the cutting off of the top stalks, with 
one clean sweep at each hill, near the top of the highest 
ears. The remainder of the stalks, with the ears, are 
then allowed to stand in the field until they become dry, 
sear and dead. Then the ears are husked on the hill, 
or picked and stored in some building convenient to the 
corn crib, and husked as opportunity offers. 

The fodder remaining in the field after taking off 
the corn is sometimes cut at the ground, and taken to 
the barn for feeding the stock ; but generally the stock 
are turned into the field in the bleak days of November 
and December, to pick off some of the dry leaves and 
husks, and to trample down the remainder preparatory 
to plowing it into the soil. This method is too wasteful 
for the practical farmer. More nutriment is contained 
below the ear than above it, and practically all of this 
is waste so far as its feeding value is concerned. The 
hot sun dries instead of ripens the ears and neither the 
qualitv nor the yield of corn is as good as where it is 
allowed to ripen naturally. 

CORN GROWING UNDER IRRIGATION 

Aside from irrigation itself, the general features 
of corn culture under irrigation do not differ materially 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 1 83 

from those required for the best results in a humid 
chmate. For nearly all of the irrigated region, fall 
plowing is preferred, not only because it gives a better 
opportunity for weathering and disintegration during 
the winter, but also because the soil particles have an 
opportunity to settle together and pack sufficiently for 
quick capillary attraction and to prevent too free cir- 
culation of the air to deprive it of moisture. The 
spring plowing is too loose and open for best results, 
giving it an opportunity to dry out too fast, and leav- 
ing insufficient moisture for germinating the seed. The 
deep plowing is also desirable to afford a reservoir to 
hold the winter and spring precipitation, and increase 
the depth to which roots may readily penetrate for food 
and moisture. 

The same early surface cultivation in the spring 
is as desirable as in other methods of corn growing to 
destroy the weeds just as soon as they have started, 
and to establish a soil mulch to prevent the loss of 
moisture by evaporation. The same rules govern as to 
the time of planting, that is, when the season is ad- 
vanced sufficiently to warm up the soil enough to start 
the seed promptly after it is put into the ground. For 
irrigation, the land needs some additional preparation. 
The field should be graded to an even slope in order 
that the water may pass freely over it. Knolls and 
ridges must be leveled down, holes and depressions 
filled up and dead furrows eliminated. The frequent 
cultivation with a harrow or a weeder from the time 
of planting until the corn is too large for this method 
of tillage is essential also to kill the weeds, to renew the 
soil mulch and to keep the land in a proper condition 
of tilth. 

Irrigation — Irrigation should be deferred until 
the corn shows the need of it. This is usually deter- 
mined by its very dark color, or by its wilting slightly 



184 THE BOOK OF CORN 

during- the middle of the day, showing that the evap- 
oration more than balances the supply of water reach- 
ing the roots by contact or capillarity. The delay of 
the first irrigation senses a good purpose in causing the 
roots to extend downward to seek moisture and so 
start the growth in the right direction to prepare the 
plant for any lack of moisture that may occur. Early 
irrigation tends to make the plant shallow instead of 
deep-rooted, the direction of the roots being parallel 
with the surface or at a slight angle to it. Any after- 
extension caused by a short supply of water in this case 
is not nearly as effective as when the roots are already 
pointed downward, directly toward the moist soil. 

Flooding and Fiirroii} — Corn may be irrigated 
either by the furrow or by the flooding metht^l. By the 
former the water is confined to furrows running near 
the rows or midway between them, and passes through 
until the soil is made wet by capillarity. By the latter 
method the water is distributed over the field from 
head ditches and laterals the same as for small grain 
crops. Farmers are divided in opinion as to which of 
these methods is better. Though a large majority of 
them follow the former, there are many points favor- 
able to the latter. By flooding the work is more 
quickly done and less labor is required to prepare for it. 
The soil takes up more water and is more thoroughly 
and evenly saturated, and because of the extra mois- 
ture taken, in many localities one irrigation is saved 
during the season. Those who have followed the 
flooding method claim that no harm comes from it, if 
the irrigation is followed by cultivation as soon as the 
ground is dry enough to be worked to prevent baking, 
and this precaution is necessary, too, even in the fur- 
row method. 

Soils differ so much in their texture and tendency 
to puddle and liake that neither method can be recom- 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT I05 

mended as best in all cases. Soils of a very fine texture 
that puddle easily will, no doubt, give better results 
from the furrow method, while those of medium tex- 
ture that are little inclined to puddle or bake may just 
as well be flooded and thus save the extra labor and 
expense in preparation and applying the water. If it 
should be necessary to irrigate while the corn is yet 
quite small, the furrow method should be followed, 
because any puddling or packing close around the 
plant at this time will check its growth and. perhaps, 
prevent its reaching full development. The last culti- 
vation before flooding should be made in the direction 
that the water is expected to flow over the land, so that 
the lines left by the implement may assist in its passage. 

When the furrow method is adopted, the inter- 
tillage is just the same as that for flooding until the 
crop is ready to be irrigated, then furrows are run, 
usually half way between the rows, by a single shovel 
plow sufficiently deep to permit the small stream of 
water to flow through without flooding the rows. By 
this method the moisture reaches the corn from the 
furrow through capillarity and is not apt to cause pud- 
dling or baking. It is presumed that the stream will 
be confined to the furrow, though on pieces of land 
that have not been carefully leveled and given head 
ditches at proper intervals, the furrows are likely to 
run over and flood large areas, and the portion of the 
field adjoining the head ditch is much more thoroughly 
saturated than that farthest away. When confined to 
the furrows much water is wasted unless provision is 
made to carry it on to another crop. The hilling sys- 
tem of cultivation must accompany the furrow method 
of irrigation, and this exposes more surface for evap- 
oration, the ridges formed drying out rapidly. 

The time required for thorough saturation varies 
greatly, depending upon the condition and texture of 



l86 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the soil. In a slig'htly sandy loam, the work is accom- 
plished in a brief period, but more and more time is 
rec[uired as the soil grows finer in texture or more 
clayey in composition. The first irrigation is some- 
times performed by running small furrows near the 
corn rows. In such cases the soil is not all made wet 
and less water is required. 

Freqiiency of Application — The frequency of irri- 
gation depends principally upon the capacity of the soil 
and subsoil for holding water, the depth to which roots 
may penetrate, and the attention given to keeping up 
soil mulch and freeing the land of weeds. The method 
of preparing the soil for planting, that is, the depth of 
plowing and thoroughness in pulverizing, and the quan- 
tity of water applied at each irrigation, will also affect 
the frequency. A sandy loam with a gravelly subsoil 
is very much less retentive of water and will, hence, re- 
quire more frequent irrigation than a slightly clay loam 
with a medium clay subsoil. The frequency is also 
affected by the number of windy days and the regu- 
larity of the sunshine. The more cloudy days and the 
less wind, the more slow the evaporation and the less 
frequent the irrigation. 

As the corn advances in growth and shades the 
ground more and more, the evaporation is retarded 
and there is a longer interval between the times of 
applying the water. While enough moisture should 
be kept in the ground for rapid growth, there is no time 
that an abundant supply of water is more needed or 
will have better effect than during the period covering 
the time from the appearance of the silk and tassel until 
the ears are formed, filled, and fully grown. 

Time to Apply — If the soil contains a medium 
amount of moisture at the time of planting, and it is 
carefully conserved, there will be no need of irrigating 
until the com is well started. It is better to irrigate 



CULTURE OUTSIDE CORN BELT 187 

before planting" than too soon after the corn is up. The 
usual plan of having- the ground alternately wet and 
dry gives the right conditions for rapid growth, since 
the excess of water passing off from the surface by 
evaporation brings the soluble food constituents near 
to the surface where they are within reach of the 
plant roots. 

The soil should contain enough moisture at plant- 
ing to germinate the seed and to give the plants a good 
start. Delay the first irrigation until need of it is defi- 
nitely shown, so the roots will take the right direction 
and penetrate the soil to some distance. After irriga- 
tion is begun keep the crop moderately supplied until 
the silks and tassels appear, when it should have an 
abundance until the ears are filled, after which irriga- 
tion may cease. 

Amount to Apply — The soil should be given all 
the water it will hold at each irrigation, but there is 
no standard, the amount depending upon the texture 
and other conditions. It will vary from a few inches 
to a foot. From one to two acre feet are required to 
mature a crop and it should be applied at intervals of 
from fifteen to twenty-five days, depending- upon the 
location and the character and preparation of the soil. 



CHAPTER XII 

^/T is not possible within the Hmits of a single 
^1 chapter to present a treatise on animal nutrition. 
vi/ No attempt is made to discuss the many interest- 
ing:^ and important scientific principles which 
form the basis of the rational feedin_fj^ of animals, be- 
yond those problems which are intimately related to 
the proper and profitable utilization of the corn plant. 
In no case is it possible or indeed advisable to attempt 
to set down fixed rules or definite directions for the 
p^uidance of the feeder. Local and varyins;- conditions 
with reference to the abundance, convenience and 
cheapness of certain classes of foodstuffs ; the class, 
quality and value of the animal product sought to be 
produced ; the convenience to market, etc, are impor- 
tant and usually determining factors to which it would 
be impossible to make a general adjustment of any set 
of fixed rules. 

Corn is the great American stock food. No other 
plant compares with it in its wide and general distri- 
bution, in the ease, certainty and cheapness with which 
it may be produced ; in the yield of valuable food ma- 
terial per acre ; and in the close relation it bears to 
the development of the live stock interests of the 
country. Every state in the Union, excepting Ari- 
zona, Idaho and Nevada, is reported as growing corn 
commercially. Where corn is grown extensively, there 
the live stock interests are extensively developed and 
prosperous. A corn center is synonymous with a live 
stock center, and the geographical distribution of com 
production is in a general way an index to the dis- 



FEEDING 



loy 



tribution of live stock. Eleven prominent corn states, 
producing something over seventy-five per cent of all 
the com of the United States, produce practically 
sixty per cent of the horses, mules, cattle, hogs, 
milch cows and sheep of the country. From these 
states are drawn the chief supplies of well-finished 
beeves and hogs, and well-developed horses and mules. 
They are the feed yards of the nation. It is a signifi- 
cant fact also that in this territory are concentrated 
the great herds of blooded horses, cattle, hogs and 
sheep. A country pre-eminently adapted to corn 
growing is at once pre-eminently adapted to the pro- 
duction of a high class of live stock. Even the stock- 
men and dairymen on the high priced lands of the 
east find it profitable, indeed necessary, to make corn 
the basis of the rations for their stock. 

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF CORN 

In accompanying tables in Appendix will be found 
the average chemical composition of the grain, mill 
products, etc, of the different types of corn. 

A more detailed study of the chemical composi- 
tion of the corn kernel has been made by the New 
Jersey experiment station. One hundred grams of 
com kernels were separated as nearly as possible into 
skin, germ, and starchy and hard portion, and the 
different parts analyzed, with the result shown below : 

.'ERCENTAGE COMPOSITION OF DRY CORN KERNEL 





Propor- 
tion of 
parts 


Ash 


Protein 


Fiber 


Nitrogen 

tree 
extract 


Fat 


Original kernel 

Skin 


100.0 

5.5 

_ 10.2 

84.3 


1.7 

1.3 

11.1 

.7 


12.6 

6.6 

21.7 

12.2 


2.0 

16.4 

2.9 

.6 


79.4 
74.1 
34.7 
85.0 


4.3 

1.6 


Germ 


29 6 


Starchy and hard parts 


1.5 



190 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



These results are of j)arlicular interest in con- 
nection with a study of the hy-products of corn, such 
as the ghUen feeds, germ meal, hominy chop, corn 




Fig 49— Characteristics of Kernel of Corn 

a. The husk, or skin, which covers the whole kernel; it consists of two 
distinct layers, the outer and inner, which when removed constitute the bran 
and contain practically ail of the crude liber of the whole grain. 

1^. A layer of jjluten cells, which lies immediately underneath the husk; it 
is yellow in color, and cannot be readily separated from the remainder of the 
kernel. This part is the richest of any in sjluten. 

c. The germ, which is readily distinguished by its position and form; it 
also contains gluten, though it is pariicularly rich in oil and mineral constituents. 

</. The large portion, which is composed chiefly of starch; the dark color 
indicates the yellow, flinty part, in which the starch holding cells are more 
closely compacted. 



bran, etc, resultinij from the manufacture of starch, 
hominy, glucose, etc, from corn. These corn feeds 



FEEDING 191 

are now offered on the markets in such quantities as 
to be of considerable commercial importance and to 
be worthy of the careful study of the feeder. 

The cut, Fig 49, which we are permitted to 
use through the courtesy of the New Jersey experi- 
ment station, will help the student to a clearer under- 
standing of the particular parts of the corn kernel 
referred to in the tables above, and what parts enter 
chiefly into the composition of the different corn by- 
products now on the market. 

It will be observed that the starchy portion con- 
stitutes more than four-fifths of the entire kernel, that 
the germ, which is only about one-tenth of the kernel, 
contains practically two-thirds of the fat and almost 
two-thirds of the ash of the entire kernel. The crude 
fiber is largely in the skin. 

Most of the so-called corn feeds are what is left 
after the starch has been removed more or less com- 
pletely from the grain. This is accomplished by 
mechanical means, and leaves the residue uninjured 
by the process, which in brief is as follows : 

The grain is ground into meal, usually in warm 
running water or after it has been thoroughly soaked, 
and the various parts of the kernel named in the table 
are separated in water by gravity. The skin or hulls, 
forming the bran, float on the surface ; the germs sink 
to the bottom, while the starch and hard portions of. 
the kernel, carrying in addition to the starch a consid- 
erable portion of gluten cells, are held in suspension 
in the water. This water, carrying the starch and 
gluten in suspension, is then conducted slowly through 
long troughs, where the starch, being the heavier, 
settles to the bottom, and the gluten is carried on, to 
be recovered by evaporating the water. 

The composition, therefore, of the by-product 
will depend upon the particular part of the kernel 



192 THE BOOK OF CORN 

from which it is made. When derived largely from 
the hulls, as in the case of bran, the content of crude 
fiber will be relatively high, and the content of protein 
and fat will be relatively low. If made from the 
germs, as in the case of the germ meals, it will run rela- 
tively high in fat and ash and moderately high in 
protein. The gluten as separated from the starch, 
when unmixed with other materials, is distinguished 
by its high protein content. 

As found in the market, the principal brands are "sugar 
corn" or "starch" feed, made up mostly of hulls and germs ; 
gluten meal, which comes from the flinty portion nf the kernel ; 
and gluten feed, which is now a mixture of hulls and the 
gluten part. When unmixed with other parts of the kernel, the 
hulls are also known as corn bran, and the germ portion from 
which the oil has been pressed is called, when ground, germ 
oil meal. The corn bran contains the least protein and the 
gluten meal the most, while the gluten feed and germ oil 
meal occupy a position between these. It should be remarked 
that the commercial names for gluten products are not always 
a safe guide in their purchase.* 

All foods of this class, including such other by- 
products as wheat bran, wheat middlings, linseed 
meal, cottonseed meal, etc, should invariably be pur- 
chased on the basis of a guaranteed content of pro- 
tein, fat, nitrogen free extract and fiber, just as com- 
mercial fertilizers are now purchased on a guaranteed 
content of nitrogen, potash and phosphoric acid. 

DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS 

While the tables to which reference is made, 
showing the amounts of the different classes of nutri- 
ents contained in the dififcrent varieties of corn, and 
the diflfercnt parts of the plant, cannot fail to be inter- 
esting and instructive to the student of animal nutri- 
tion, at the same titne it should be borne in mind that 
only a part of any vegetable food is digested by the 

•Jordan — The Feeding of Animals. 




Fig SO— A California Silo Made with Studding 



194 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



animal, the undig-ested portion being- voided in the 
form of dung, as so much worthless or waste material. 
In general the grains and concentrated feeds are 
more completely digested than the coarse fodders. A 
larger proportion of the corn g^rain is digested than 
of the corn stover. A larger proportion of wheat than 

of the straw. It is 

,J/. ''i^^^^^-^ U,^^_j^^^^^^; r ^ worthy of remark in 

passing that the corn 
grain is one of the 
most concentrated and 
is the most completely 
digested of any of the 
grain feeds. Then, 
too, the digestibility 
of any foodstuff may 
be affected within cer- 
tain narrow limits by 
its palatability, by the 
quantity consumed by 
the animal, the stage 
of growth or develop- 
ment at which it was 
harvested, and its 
combina t i o n with 
other foodstuffs. 
Contrary to the 
digestibility of a feed does 
either favorablv or 




s*i»hm 



Fig 51— Rack for Fodder 

In feeding unshredded corn fodder, care 
in handling may be secured through the 
use of the simple device here illustrated. 
This rack is easy to fill and will retain the 
stalks, allowing the cattle to eat ofT the 
leaves and other eatable portions The rack 
is to be built against a lence so that tlie 
filling can be done from the outside. The 
manger a is only high enough to retain the 
fodder Make the frame of 2x4*5. The 
rack fi should be made of four inch fencing 
lumber and slats about four inches apart. 
The outside rack r should be set out far 
enough so the cattle can reach down easily 
tc pick up the chaff The bottom e may 
be floored and this surrounded by a six- 
inch board to guard against waste. 



general impression, the 
not appear to be affected 
unfavorably, at least to any appreciable degree under 
ordinary circi^.mstances, by cooking, soaking, grind- 
ing, or the method of preserving or drying, so long 
as it is not subjected to mechanical loss of the finer 
parts in drying and handling or to molding or fer- 
menting in the process of preserving. 

The amount of digestible nutrients, therefore, is 



FEEDING 195 

a far safer measure of the feeding value of any sub- 
stance than the chemical composition. For aside from 
its palatableness the value of a food depends first upon 
the amount of digestible material supplied, and second, 
upon the proportion of protein, carbohydrates and fat 
in this digestible material. To present this informa- 
tion concerning the products of the corn plant in a 
form convenient for reference, a table has been ar- 
ranged, which may be found in the Appendix. 

TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF CORN 

The two most important ways in which the effi- 
ciency and value of the corn plant may be increased 
are : First, by supplementing the corn and stover with 
such foodstuffs are are relatively rich in protein, so as 
to furnish the animal a more nearly balanced ration 
than these materials alone supply. Second, by care- 
fully saving and properly feeding the great crop of 
corn stover (the plant after the ears are removed) 
which now for the most part is allowed to go to waste 
in the great corn belt of the central west. 

Corn Is a Carbonaceous Food — Notwithstanding 
the fact that corn is the best single stock food known 
and that thousands of animals are successfully win- 
tered or fattened each year on an exclusive ration 
of corn and corn stover or some similar roughage, it 
is true that they are by no means a perfectly balanced 
or complete food. As has already been shown by the 
tables of composition and digestible nutrients, corn 
contains a very large quantity of carbonaceous matter 
in proportion to the protein compounds. It does not 
give a proper balance between the carbohydrates 
(which include starch, the sugars, fat, and digestible 
fiber) and the protein. 

In other words, practical experience and scientific 
experiments have proved beyond doubt that by com- 



196 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



bining- corn with some feed that will increase the pro- 
portion of protein, a more efficient ration will be the 
result ; more rapid gains will be made by the animals 
to which it is fed ; more rapid and healthfid growth 
will be made on young animals ; a larger flow of milk 
will be obtained from the dairy cow, and the steer will 
carry a smoother finish and a finer coat to market ; and, 
imder ordinary circumstances, or if the material for 
balancing the corn be selected judiciously and with a 
due regard to the cost as compared with the increased 
efficiency obtained, an increased profit will be returned. 

PARTIAL LIST OF FOODS RICH IN PROTEIN 



Corn (for comparison) 

('orn stover (for comparison) 

Cottonseed meal 

Linseed meal— old process... 
Linseed meal — new process.. 

ftlncose meal 

Grano gluten 

Gluten meal 

Siisrar meal 

Wheat mi<ldliiigs 

Wlieat bran 

D.irk feeding Hour 

Buckwheat middlings 

Oat feed or shorts 

Malt sprouts — dried 

Brewers' grain — dried 

Soy I)ean grain 

Horse b'^an 

Co wpoa grain 

Flehl peas — grain 

Alf.-il'a hay 

Cowpea hay 

Crimson clover liay 

Red clover hay 

Rkimmil k 

Buttermilk 



Percentage digestible nutrients 



Protein 


Carboliy- 
drates 


Fat 


7.9 


66.7 


4.3 


1.1 


32.4 


.7 


37.2 


16.9 


12.2 


29.3 


32.7 


7.0 


28.2 


40 1 


2.8 


30.3 


35.3 


14 5 


26.7 


38.8 


12.4 


25.8 


43.3 


110 


18.7 


51.7 


8.7 


12.8 


53.0 


3.4 


12 2 


39.2 


2.7 


13..') 


61.3 


2.0 


22.0 


334 


5.4 


12.5 


46.9 


2.8 


18.6 


37.1 


17 


15.7 


36.3 


5.1 


29.6 


22.3 


14.4 


22.4 


49.3 


1.2 


18.3 


54.2 


1.1 


16.8 


51.8 


.7 


11.0 


39 6 


1.2 


10.8 


38.6 


1.1 


10.5 


34.9 


1.2 


6.8 


35.8 


1.7 


3.0 


4.9 


.5 


3.9 


4.0 


LI 



FOODSTUFFS FOR BALANCING CORN 

All stock feeds may be divitled into two general 
classes — one in which the fat-producing and heat- 



198 THE BOOK OF CORN 

forming" ingredients, such as starch, the sugars, etc, 
designated as carbohydrates, and the fats, largely pre- 
dominate ; and the other class containing a relatively 
large amount of muscle-making material, commonly 
known as protein. This protein is required for 
g'ood growth in young animals, and for breeding stock 
and animals in milk, and is very valuable even in the 
final fattening period. The line between these two 
classes of foods cannot be sharply drawn in all cases, 
some feeds being so nearly between the two as to be 
as appropriately placed in one class as the other. 

As has already been pointed out, corn is the most 
important representative of the carbonaceous group, 
and we are here chiefly concerned in discovering the 
materials which may be used to supply the protein in 
which the corn is deficient. 

The foregoing table contains some of the more 
important foods of this class, together with the digesti- 
ble nutrients supplied by them. 

Among those who have essayed to give advice 
on this subject are two classes of extremists. One 
unduly exalts the value of the nitrogenous group of 
nutrients and, by inference at least, insists that the 
ration must have a more or less definite proportion 
of protein in order to be adapted to a given purpose, 
even regardless of convenience or cost. The other, 
realizing the unsoundness of this extreme position, is 
unwilling to concede that any financial benefit will 
accrue frotn attempting to balance the ration to better 
meet the requirements of the class of animals to which 
it is to be fed. 

It is not difificult to discover the absurdity of the 
position of the first class, when corn is worth, delivered 
to the railroad, from twenty to twenty-five cents per 
bushel, equivalent to seven \o nine dollars per ton, and 
corn stover mav be had in abundance for the labor of 



FEEDING 199 

cutting- it, and the extra labor involved in husking the 
corn from the shock, amounting- all told to not over 
one dollar and fifty cents per ton ; again, when cotton- 
seed meal or linseed meal costs from twenty to thirty 
dollars per ton. It is clear that it would be necessary 
for the balancing of the ration to exert a profound in- 
fluence upon its efficiency in order to meet the in- 
creased cost involved. A study of the experimental 
results with balanced and unbalanced ration for differ- 
ent classes of stock which follows in this chapter, while 
showing a decided and uniform advantage in favor of 
tlie balanced ration, yet fails to show sufficient differ- 
ence for most purposes to justify the expense in the 
particular case noted above. Clearly there is no law 
of nature or nations requiring the feeder to balance his 
rations beyond the point of profit. 

On the other hand, if, as it will be clearly shown 
from the experimental data submitted, there is in 
nearly every situation an opportunity to so combine 
material at hand or material that may be gotten at a 
reasonable cost as to practically balance the ration and 
in so doing to increase the profits correspondingly, the 
conservatism and prejudice of the other class of ex- 
tremists must at once yield. 

In general, the best ration is made of such a com- 
bination of foodstuffs as will give the proper propor- 
tion of protein and carbohydrates for the particular 
class of animals or the special purpose for which it is 
to be used. At the same time careful attention must be 
given to the cost of the material to be used, the pala- 
tability of the ration and the convenience with which 
it may be obtained and fed. In short, the controlling 
factor in making up every ration should be its cost 
in proportion to its productiveness ; but as has already 
been stated, the taste and appetite of the animal should 
be catered to, and heed should be p-iven to the adapta- 



200 THE BOOK OF CORN 

bility of the ration to the special use to which it is to 
be put. A vast majority of the feeders of America find 
it necessary and profitable to use the product of the 
corn plant as the basis of all rations for all classes 
of stock. 

It is clear that when feed is to be purchased, it 
should as far as practicable be selected with reference 
to supplementing, balancing or adding- to the value of 
the material already on hand, rather than to purchase 
more of the same class. For example, it would not 
be good business policy to purchase timothy, kafir 
corn, sorghum, millet, or any of the straws, to feed with 
corn and stover, since such a combination adds nothing 
to the ration above the sum of digestible nutrients con- 
tained in the two feeds. Whereas if clover, alfalfa, 
cowpeas, bran, middlings, gluten meal, cottonseed meal 
or linseed meal be selected to combine with the corn 
products, the feeding value of the resulting ration 
would be directly increased. As practical illustrations 
of the value of combining such materials with corn 
products the following results of careful experiments 
are cited : 

Dairy Co7i's — Jordan* reports the results of an 
experiment in which the yield of milk from cows when 
fed on six pounds of corn daily <-nd all the timothy hay 
they would eat, was compared with the quantity of milk- 
obtained from the same cows when fed on a balanced 
ration consisting of two pounds of corn meal, two 
pounds of cottonseed meal and two pounds of glulen 
meal, together with all the timothy hay they would eat. 
Both rations supplied practically the same quantity of 
digestible nutrients, but the proportion of protein was 
nearly twice as much in the mixed grain ration as in 
the corn meal ration. The results showed that during 
the time the cows were fed the balanced ration they 

•Maine state college annual report. 1893. Page 81. 



KEEDING 



201 



produced from one-fifth to nearly one-third more milk 
than when they were fed on the unbalanced ration, and 
that the yield of milk solids was from thirty to forty 
per cent greater. 

Groii'iiig Steers — Waters* reports the results of 
several years' work with yearling" steers, in which a 
gain from corn and timothy hay is compared with that 
from several other rations, in which the corn was at 
least partially balanced with cowpea hay, clover hay, 
etc. The following tables present a summary of the 
results : 

COMPARISON OF BALANCED AND UNBALANCED RATIONS 

First trial, 1899-00, 104 days, four steers in each lot, four 
pounds corn per day per head. 



Corn eaten, lbs 

Hay eaten, lbs 

Total gain, lbs 

Average daily gain, 11)S. 
Grain per lb gain, lbs.. 



Corn and 
timothy hay 



1.5C8 
6,536 
260 
.64 
6.00 



Corn and 
cowpea hay 



1.568 

7,757 
624 
1.54 
2.51 



In this trial the substitution of cowpea hay for the timothy 
more than doubled the gain. 

Second trial, 1900-01, 80 days, four steers in each lot, six 
pounds shelled corn per day per head. 



Corn eaten, lbs 

Hay eaten, lbs 

Total gain, lbs 

Average daily gain, lbs 
Grain per lb gain, lbs . 



Corn and 


Corn and 


Corn and 


Corn and 


timothy 


clover 


sorghum 


hay 


hay 




hay 


1,926 


1,926 


1,926 


1,926 


1,543 


5,719 


3.941 


4,727 


318 


640 


119 


166 


1.00 


2.00 


.37 


.52 


6.06 


3.01 


16.10 


11.60 



The results of the two experiments are in full 
accord. Note the difference in the amount of gain 

•Missouri experiment station — Board of agriculture bulletins, 
September and October, igoi. 



202 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



and in the number of jiounds of corn required per 
pound of gain of the steers that were fed a balanced 
ration, in comparison with tliose which were fed an 
unbalanced ration of corn with either timothy hay, 

BALANCED AND UNBALANCED RATIONS FOR FATTEN- 
ING STEERS* 

First trial, 1899-00, 119 days, four two-year-old steers in each 
lot, full fed on shelled corn. 



( '(jrn eaten , bushels 

Ronpliiiess eaten, lbs 

Total gain, lbs 

Averatre daily gain per steer, lbs 

P<»nnfls grain per lb of gain 

Gain per bnsliel of corn, lbs 



Corn and 

timolliy 

hay 



IOC 

3,8ia 

80-J 

1 69 

11 51 

4.87 



Corn and 

cowpea 

hay 



188 

3,G62 

1,257 
2.64 
8.31 
6.74 



Second trial. 



1900-01, 105 days, four two-year-old steers in 
each lot, full fed on shelled corn. 



Corn eaten, bushels 

Roughness eaten, lbs 

Total gain, II >s 

Average daiiy ga'n per steer, lbs 

Pounds grain per lb of pain 

Gain per bushel of corn, lbs 



Corn and 

timothy 

hay 



157,5 
:,5;50 
789 

1.97 
11.19 
5.00 



Corii and 

clover 

hay 



17C.2 

4,708 

1,135 
2.84 
8.69 
6.44 



Corn and 

cowpea 

hay 



17.5.3 

4,783 

1,134 
2.84 
8.65 
6.47 



millet or sorghum. The corn when fed with either 
clover or cowpeas was more than twice as efficient 
as when combined with any of the other materials 
named. 

Fattening Steers — Corn is conceded by all authori- 
ties to be the best single grain ration for fattening ani- 
mals, especially when its low cost is considered. At 

'Missouri experiment st.ition — Board of agriculture bulletins, 
September and October, 1901. 




E -5: 



a i:^ 



204 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the same time the combination of corn with such food- 
stuffs as will increase the proportion of protein in a 
ration will result in a more rapid ^ain, as is clearly 
shown in the forec^oing^ tabic of experiments recorder 
by Professor Waters of Missouri agricultural college. 

EFFICIENCY OF MIXED RATIONS 

These results are worthy of the most careful con- 
sideration. Taken in connection with those reported 
for yearlings, they indicate that the combination of 
clover or cowpeas with corn exerts a profound influ- 
ence upon the efficiency of the ration as compared with 
corn and timothy hay. It will be noted that with the 
unbalanced ration of corn and timothy, each bushel 
of corn produced in one trial 4.87 poimds of gain, and 
five pounds in the other, or an average of 4.93 pounds 
for the two trials. When, however, the clover or cow- 
pea hay was substituted for the timothy, each bushel 
of corn produced from 6.44 to 6.74 pounds of gain, or 
an average of 6.58 pounds, an increase of 1.65 pounds 
of beef from each bushel of corn fed. With steers 
selling at five cents a pound, this means that the feeder 
is getting eight and one-fourth cents a bushel more 
for his corn by balancing his ration with some such 
cheap material as clover or cowpeas. With corn at 
twenty-five or thirty cents a bushel, this is equivalent 
to an increase of twenty-five to thirty-three per cent in 
the returns from his feeding operations. 

Not onlv is this true, but the steers will command 
a higher price on the market by reason of having 
gotten fatter, of finishing up smoother, and carrying 
more bloom. Tn the case of young cattle, the advan- 
tage is not all expressed in increased gain in weight, 
since the animal when wintered on a balanced ration 
is in condition to make better growth on grass or to 



FEEDING 



205 



^o into the feed lot and make rapid and econom- 
ical gains. 

Hogs — Plumb* reports the results of a feedinjy 
trial with pig's, in which corn meal was compared with 
equal parts corn meal and wheat middlings, with the 
following results : 

CORN MEAL AND WHEAT MIDDLINGS FOR HOGS 





Average 

daily gain, 

lbs 


Grain per 

100 lbs 
gain, lbs 


Corn m ea I 


1.55 
1.68 


432 


Corn meal and wheat, middlings 


406 



Cottrellt reports the results of a number of ex- 
periments in which soy bean meal was used to balance 
the corn, A summary of these trials is presented. 

BALANCED AND UNBALANCED RATIONS FOR HOGS 





No hogs 
in lot 


Average 

gain 
per day 


Grain 

per 100 lbs 

gain 


First trial— 


5 
5 
3 
3 

5 

5 
5 

5 

10 

10 

10 

10 


1.85 
2 12 
1.21 
1.73 
.66 

1.15 
.T4 

1.08 
,83 

1.55 
.88 

1.73 


471 
409 


Kafir i-orn meal fonr-fifths, soy 


Second trial- 


5.'i9 


Kafir corn meal fonr-fifths, soy 


408 


Third trial - 
Kafir corn meal— soaked 4S hours.. 
Kafir corn meal two-thirds, soy 
bean meal one-third — soaked 


542 
374 




484 


Corn meal two-thirds, soy bean 
meal one-tliird- soaked48hours. . 
Fourth trial- 


son 

749 


Kafir corn meal four-fifths, soy 


468 


Fifth trial— 50 days- 


653 


Kafir corn nieal four-fifths, soy 
bean meal one-fifth — dry 


435 



•Indiana experiment station, bulletin 71. 
tKansas experiment station, bulletin 95. 



206 THE BOOK OF CORN 

From the above it is seen that in every case the 
soy bean meal had the effect of increasinj^ the rate 
of gain and of cheapening the cost of production. 
Averaging aU the work at the Kansas station, it was 
found that the six lots of hogs having soy bean meal 
as a part of the ration required 411 pounds of grain 
for 100 pounds of gain, while the nineteen lots not fed 
soy beans but given either kafir corn or corn, required 
564 pounds of grain for 100 pounds of gain. 

Corn as a Feed for Horses — So much has been 
said against the feeding of work horses on an exclu- 
sive grain ration of corn that much unreasonable preju- 
dice has been aroused against its use for all classes of 
horses. This is especially true of the horse owners of 
the eastern states and of Europe. While it is not con- 
tended that corn alone should be fed for any great 
length of time to horses at work or young growing 
animals, at the same time it is fundamentally true that 
all things considered it is the most efficient and best 
single grain for idle horses and for those performing 
any class of work, and that it must form the basis of 
the ration for this class of stock as it does for all others, 
if due consideration is to be given to the economy of 
production. Perhaps the most elaborate experiments 
on record, in point of number of horses involved and 
the length of time over which the observations have 
extended, are those recently reported by M Lavalard 
of France. His investigations were begun for the 
Paris omnibus company, with the view of establishing 
a rational basis for the feeding of the large number of 
horses controlled by them under the different condi- 
tions of work, and have already extended over a 
period of twenty-five years, and later involved saddle 
horses and light draft horses traveling at a rapid gait ; 
horses hauling light loads, and heavy draft horses haul- 
ing heavy loads at a slow pace. Altogether the obser- 



FEEDING 207 

vations have included some sixteen thousand horses 
belonging to the omnibus company, about seventeen 
thousand army horses, and one thousand horses used 
for heavy freighting. In summing up his conclusions 
on the use of corn, the following should have the effect 
of dispelling whatever prejudice may exist against the 
use of this feed for all classes of horses.* 

"Our first experiments were made with Indian corn. They 
were undertaken with all kinds of horses and gave most satis- 
factory results. The Campagnie crenerale des voitures and the 
Campagnie generale des omnibus began about 1870 to feed 
Indian corn, and the results were so satisfactory that since 
that time the first named company has almost entirely ceased 
to feed oats. The latter company has continued to feed both 
oats and corn, effecting a saving of from one million to one 
and one-half million francs a year. In view of these facts, the 
opponents of corn have been forced to admit that it is a suita- 
ble feed for draft horses. They have insisted, however, that 
since it does not contain the so-called stimulating principle 
'avenine' it should not be used for saddle horses and others 
where speed is required. Examples of the successful use of 
corn were cited in the author's earlier publications. The 
horses of the French expedition in Mexico were fed exclu- 
sively on corn. Our recent experiments on cavalry and artil- 
lery horses have shown that Indian corn may generally replace 
oats without in any way causing the horses to deteriorate. 
The horses fed the corn ration were used the same number of 
hours in the military drill and in the maneuvers, and were 
ridden at the same gait as those fed exclusively on oats, and it 
was practically impossible to perceive the least difference 
between the two classes. The army officers, prejudiced as 
they naturally were, were forced to admit that all the horses 
showed the same energy and vigor. A careful record showed 
that the sickness and mortality were the same with horses on 
the two rations. 

"Corn and oats are quite similar in composition. In ex- 
periments made at the laboratory of the Campagnie generale 
des omnibus in co-operation with Muntz, the author found 
very high coefficients of digestibility for corn, as shown by the 
following results: Protein 86.1. fat 93.9. sugar and starch 100, 
crude fiber 82.8, saccharifiable fiber 86.g, undetermined sub- 
stances 85.2 per cent. These coefficients show that the nutritive 
ingredients of corn are much more assimilable than has been 
generally believed in Europe. As regards physical character, 

*Experiment station record, \'olume XII, Page 14. 



2o8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

oats contain on an average 70 to 75 per cent of kernel and 25 to 
30 per cent of indigestible hull, which resembles straw in com- 
position. The skin or hull of maize amounts to practically 
nothing. These facts show why horses thrive better and are 
more apt to maintain their weight on corn than on oats. Our 
recent experiments have demonstrated that corn can replace 
oats in the ration of both cavalry and artillery horses, and if 
substituted weight for weight it increases the nutritive value 
of the ration. This is the same deduction which was drawn 
from experiments, now more llian twenty-five years old, made 
for the two great cab companies of Paris." 

Shepperd* compared a ration consisting' of equal 
parts corn and oats with oats alone for mules at hard 
work, with the result that the animals on corn and 
oats made an average daily gain of seven-tenths of a 
pound, while those on oats alone lost six-tenths of a 
pound. He estimates that 77.5 pounds of corn is worth 
100 pounds of oats for horses at work. 

Corn as a Food for Poultry — For the fattening of 
all classes of fowls, corn is conceded to he unsurpassed, 
hut the almost universal advice of poultrymen to elim- 
inate this material entirely from the ration of laying 
fowls is perhaps based first upon the notion that the 
ei::;^ contains a large proportion of protein, and there- 
fore only foodstuffs rich in this group of substances 
can be used to advantage, and second, doubtless to 
the unfavorable results obtained in practice from the 
exclusive use of com for this purpose. 

Some recent experiments by Rrooks and Thomp- 
son t with several dift'crent breeds, in which complete 
laying records were kept for the two years covered 
by the experiment, clearly indicate that this prejudice 
against corn, when properly combined with other food- 
stuffs, is unfounded, and that by adding a reasonable 
amount of corn to the ration a large increase in e^s^ 
production at a decreased cost will result. 

Tn one trial wheat, oats, bran, middlings, animal 

*North Dakota experiment station, bulletin 45. 
tMassachusetts experiment station reports, 1899-00. 



FEEDING 209 

meal, corn and com meal were fed to one lot of nine- 
teen pullets, and to another lot of similar pullets the 
same ration was given, except that the middlings and 
gluten feed in the morning mash were replaced by 
corn meal, and the substitution of shelled corn was 
made for about half of the wheat and oats in the even- 
ing feed. The experiments were conducted in both 
winter and summer. The results show that the hens 
having the larger amount of corn instead of so much 
high-priced material, like wheat, middlings, oats, glu- 
ten feed, etc, produced from one-fourth to one-third 
more eggs at materially less expense for food ; that the 
eggs from the corn-fed fowls were of milder flavor 
and had a yolk of deeper yellow color ; that the fowls 
thus fed gained in weight despite the increased num- 
ber of eggs produced ; that on slaughter at the close of 
the experiment the fowls fed corn dressed more and 
w^re pronounced by an experienced market judge to 
be superior to those fed on the higher-priced ration. 

In another experiment where the corn displaced 
the wheat and oats entirely as a night feed, but the 
ration in other respects was the same as in the previous 
trial, the results were even more strikingly favorable 
to the use of corn. 

It is not to be concluded from these investigations 
that an exclusive ration of corn would prove satisfac- 
tory for this purpose, but that in the case of laying 
fowls, as with all other stock, corn, judiciously used, 
is the most economical and profitable foodstuff avail- 
able. For the greatest profit in any feeding operation, 
it must form the basis of the ration. 

THE MORE COMPLETE UTILIZATION OF CORN STOVER* 

The second most important way in which the 
value of the corn crop may be increased to the farmer 

*The corn plant after the ear is removed. 



2IO 



THE BO(JK OF CORN 



is in the more complete utilization of the corn stover. 
It is estimated that between eighty and ninety million 
tons of stover are produced on the eighty million acres 
or more planted to corn in the United States each year. 
The magnitude of this annual crop of roughness will 
be more fully appreciated when we consider that the 
annual hay crop of the United States is between sixty 




Fig 54— Effects of Root Pruning 

No I, not pruned; 2, pruned four inches actp; 3, pruned six inches deep. 
Sec Chapter \'III 

and seventy million tons, and is estimated to have a 
money value on the farm of something like live hun- 
dred millions of dollars. 

Stover is carefully harvested and fed in the more 
densely populated states of the east. Tn the great corn 
belt of the middle west, where more than half the corn 



FEEDING 



211 



of the nation is produced, there is a prodigious and 
profligate waste of this valuable material. In this 
section valuable land is used for the production of 
timothy hay upon every farm, to he used for roughness, 
and acres of corn stover are allowed to go almost 
entirely to waste. 

Comparison of Nutrienls in Ear and Stover — 
According to the investigations of Armsby* and 
Others, the digestible nutrients of the entire corn plant 
are distributed between the ear and stover about as 
follows : 

DISTRIBUTION OF DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN CORN 



In total crops, lbs. 

In the ears, lbs 

In the stover, lbs. 



Protein 



327 

2-24 

83 



Carbohy- 
drates 


Fat 


Total 


:S774 
2,301 
1,473 


147 
125 

22 


4,248 
2,670 
1,578 



Per 

cent 



100 
63 
37 



This table indicates that approximately 63 per cent, or 
practically two-thirds of the digestible material of the entire 
crop, is lodged in the ear, and about 2>7 per cent, or a little 
more than one-third, is found in the stover. 

The corn grower perhaps does not realize when 
he harvests and utilizes only the ears that he willfully 
wastes more than one-third of the crop that he has 
been at the pains of growing. 

CORN STOVER COMPARED WITH TIMOTHY HAvt 



Water 

Ash 

Fiber . , 

Fat. 

Protein 

Nitrogen free extract. 



Whole 


Water free substance 


stover 
field 




1 


Whole 








cured 


stover 


Leaves 


Stalks 


Husks 


% 
40.1 


% 


% 


% 


^<L_ 






3 4 


T^.l 


7.9 


3 6 


3.5 


19.1 


33 


.30 f) 


34 8 


32.2 


1 1 


1.7 


1.9 


1.6 


14 


3.8 


G.4 


8.6 


5 9 


5.0 


31.9 


.53.2 


51.0 


54.1 


57.9 



Timothy 

hay for 

cbm- 

parison 

% 



5.1 
.33.5 
2.9 
6.8 
51.7 



•Pennsylvania state college report, T887. 
tLindsey United States Year Book, 1896. 



212 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN ONE TON OF STOVER AND ONE 
TON OF TIMOTHY* 





Corn stover, 
lbs 


Timotliy 
liay, lbs 




353.7 
13.5 
53.1 

544. C 


296.1 


tilt 


33.1 








553.0 






Total 


9G1.6 


938.2 



It is safe to discount these figures for the coarse, 
rank-growing stover of the corn belt, for experience 
teaches that this material is not so palatable and prob- 
ably not so digestible as the smaller and finer stover 
produced in the north and east. 

Coarse Stover Valuable — At the same time, the 
results of all experiments and of experience abundantly 
]^rove that even this coarse stover has a feeding value 
that will fully justify the labor, pains and expense 
of harvesting and feeding it. The waste of this food 
that occurs in many sections from merely topping the 
stalk, leaving the blades below the ear and the husks 
to waste, is not from any point of view justifiable or 
economical, much less the more common practice in 
the corn belt of allowing most of the corn to stand in 
the field until harvested, and allowing all of the stover 
to waste except the little that the stock may eat in 
gleaning the stalk fields late in the season. 

The Feeding Value of Corn Stover — The results 
of experiments by the Missouri experiment station 
extending over six vears, with yearling and two-year- 
old steers, both with and without grain, will enable us 
to form a fair estimate of the feeding value of this 
material as compared with timothy hay. which is ac- 
cepted as the commercial standard, at least, of all 
rough fodders. Tn all of these trials, large coarse 

*St()ver computed on basis of twenty per cent moisture. 



FEEDING 



213 



stover from corn yielding sixty to seventy bushels of 
grain an acre was used. It was allowed to stand in 
the open field in what is commonly known as sixteen- 
hill-square shocks until required for feeding, and was 
fed whole. The timothy was harvested when the seed 
was in the dough state, and the hay was either pre- 
served in the mow or in large ricks. Undoubtedly 
the smaller stover of the north or the finer material 
grown especially for fodder would show a higher pala- 
tability and feeding value, but it is this coarse stover 
which is mainly wasted, and the results of these ex- 
periments are therefore directly applicable to the ordi- 
nary conditions of the middle west. 

TESTS WITH STOVER AND TIMOTHY 

Comparison of the feeding value of stover and timothy — 
Yearling steers — No grain — Results computed on the basis of 
1000 pounds live weight — Three years' work. 





Food 




eaten 




daily per 




steer, lbs 


First trial- 






16.5 


Whole corn stover 


25.5 


Second trial— 




Tiniothv hay 


22.3 


Wliole corn stover 


22,9 


Third trial- 




Timothy hav 


21.7 


Whole corn stover 


28.9 


Average- 






20.2 


Whole corn stover 


25.8 



Per 

cent 
refused 


Dry 

matter 

eaten 

daily 


Total 

gain or 

lo-iss in 

weight, 

lbs 


23.0 
35.0 

18.6 
44.7 

12 
42.0 

17.9 
40.6 


14.1 
19.5 

18.7 
17.5 

17.8 
22.6 

16.9 
19.9 


29.0 
—2.0a 

21.7 
—11.8a 

30.8 
13.8 

30.7 
00.0 



a — denotes loss in weight. 



From these results it appears that when corn 
stover alone was fed, the animals neither gained nor 
lost in weight, averaging the three years' work, while 
those having all the timothy hay they would eat made 
a slight gain. More dry matter was uniformly con- 



214 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



sumcd daily l^y the steers on stover, and a considerably 
larger proportion of the material fed was refused than 
in the case of the timothy. Taking all these facts into 
consideration, it is safe to estimate that, ton for ton, 
stover has approximately half the feeding value of 
timothy hay when each is used as an exclusive ration. 
That it is not good business policy, however, to winter 
cattle in this way in the ordinary season will be ac- 
cepted w'ithout argument. 

Increasing the Value of Stover — That it is easy 
to so increase the value of stover by combining it with 
some such material as clover, cowpea hay or alfalfa, 
that it will even exceed timothy when the timothy is 
fed alone or in combination with corn, will be perfectly 
clear from the results of further trials at the Missouri 
experiment station : 

FEEDING STOVER WITH CLOV^ER HAY 

Combinati'in of stover and clover compared with timothy 
— YearHng steers — No grain — Resuhs computed on the basis 
of looo pounds live weight. 





Timothy 
hay 


Equal parts 
whole corn 
stover and 
clover hay 


Food eaten daily per head 


21.7 
12.0 
17.8 
30.8 


25.2 
28 




21. G 




58.4 







In this case a ton of stover and a ton of clover hay 
when fed together fully equaled two tons of timothy. 

Other trials in which a small amount of shelled 
corn was added to the ration fully confirm these results, 
as shown on Pages 215 and 216. 

A Substitute for Timothy — Thus it appears in 
every case, whether fed without grain, with a small 
allowance of grain, or on full feed ; whether with year- 
lings or aged cattle, a combination of corn stover and 



FEEDING 



215 



clover hay proved superior to timothy hay. In other 
words, the farmer is able by this means to make the 
stover serve every purpose, in cattle feeding-, at least, 
for which timothy is now used. Under these circum- 
stances it is fair to say that timothy and stover have 
at least equal feeding- values. It is quite probable that 
where such hays as clover, alfalfa and cowpeas are 



FURTHER EXPERIMENTS WITH STOVER AND HAY 

1899, yearling steers, 104 days, four steers in each lot, four 
pounds corn per head per day. 



Com eaten, lbs 

Roughness eaten, lbs. 



Total pain, lbs 

Average gain per day per head. 
Grain per pound gain 



Corn and 
timothy hay 



1,5G8 
C,536 

260 
.64 
6.00 



Corn, clover 

hay and 
corn stover 



1.568 

a.3,593 

63,631 

356 



a Clover hay. b Corn stover. 

1900, yearling steers, 80 days, four steers in each lot, six pounds 
corn per head per day. 



Corn eaten, Iba 

Roughness eaten, lbs 

Total gain, lbs 

Average daily gain, lbs 

Grain per pound gain 

a Clover hay. b Corn stover 



Corn and 
timothy hay 



1,926 
4,543 

318 
1.00 

6.00 



Corn, clover 

hay and 
corn stover 



1,926 

a3,619 

/52,298 

443 

1.35 

4.45 



not available, a small quantity of cottonseed meal, lin- 
seed meal, gluten meal or bran may serve the same 
purpose and accomplish the same result, viz, of en- 
abling the feeder to use his stover to the best possible 
advantage, and as a complete substitute for timothy. 
It is needless to say that the accomplishment of this 



2l6 



THE BOOK OF CORX 



result woukl be attended by an ininicnse increase in 
the net returns from the corn crop. The annual stover 
crop would then represent a valuation to the farmers 
of something more than a quarter of a billion dollars. 
No farmer would willfully ])ermit the waste of his tim- 

FATTENING STEERS 

Comparison of timothy with equal parts stover and clover hay 
for steers on full feed. 

1899, two-year-old steers, 119 days, four steers in each lot, full 
feed of shelled corn. 



Corn eaten, biisliels 

Roughness eaten , lbs 

Total gain, Uis 

Average daily gain, lbs 

Grain per lb train, lbs 

Gain i>er bushel of corn 

a Clover hay. b Corn stover 



Corn and 
timothy hay 



166 
3,813 

802 

1.C9 
11.51 
4.87 



Corn, clover 
hay and 
corn stover 



185 
al,626 
/4,889 
917 
1.94 
11.29 
4.96 



1900, two-year-old steers, 105 days, four steers in each lot, full 
feed of corn. 



Corn eaten, busliels 

Roiigliness eaten, lbs 

Total gain, lbs 

Average daily gain, lbs 

Grain per lb gain, lbs 

Gain per bushel of corn 

a Clover hay. i Corn stover. 



Corn and 


Corn, clover 
liay and 
corn stover 


timothy hay 


157 


176 


2,540 


tt2,475 




b 868 


789 


1,140 


1.97 


2.85 


11 19 


8.30 


5.00 


6.74 



othy crop after it had been grown and required only 
to be harvested to be available as a feed. There is in 
the light of the results of the foregoing experiments 
quite as little justification for the waste of his stover. 




C Z 

c a. 
c r. 









2l8 THE BOOK OF CORN 

SILOING VS FIELD CURING 

The practice of preserving- the green corn plant in 
the silo has grown rapidly in favor, especially with 
the dairy farmer. It commends itself upon the ground 
that a large quantity of material may be stored in a 
comparatively small space. Green and succulent food 
is thereby provided for the winter months. The green 
plant is more palatable, the coarser parts of the stalk 
being much more completely consumed when made 
into silage. The harvesting is done during the pleas- 
ant weather in the early fall, and the drudgery of 
handling dry stover in winter is obviated. It is cheaper 
on the whole than to be at the expense of husking and 
grinding the ears and cutting or shredding the stover. 
It does not appear to affect the digestibility of the 
material favorably or unfavorably. 

Silage and Field-Cured Corn Fodder — Experi- 
ments have been made at the Vermont and Wisconsin 
stations, in which two rows of corn across the field 
were cut and placed in shocks, while the next two were 
run through the feed cutter and placed in the silo. By 
thus alternating until the silo was filled, equal quan- 
tities of material cut at the same time and from the 
same field were obtained. The field-cured fodder was 
later run throug-h the feed cutter and fed in compari- 
son with the silage to dairy cows, with equal quan- 
tities of hay and grain.* 

The results at the Vermont station were as fol- 
lows : The 14.262 pounds green fodder corn when 
dried, fed with a uniform daily allowance of hav and 
grain, produced 7688 pounds of milk. The 14.262 
pounds of green fodder corn converted into silage, and 
fed with the same daily ration of hay and grain, pro- 
duced 8525 pounds of milk. 

At the Wisconsin station the results were : From 

•Henry's Feeds and Feeding. 



FEEDING 219 

29,800 pounds of green fodder were obtained 24,440 
pounds of silage, which, fed with 1648 pounds of hay 
and 2884 pounds of grain, produced 7496 pounds of 
milk, containing 340.4 pounds of fat. From 29,800 
pounds of green fodder were obtained 7330 pounds of 
field-cured fodder corn, which, fed with 1567 pounds 
of hay and 2743 pounds of grain, produced 71 19 
pounds of milk, containing 318.2 pounds of fat. 

At the Vermont station the silage ration produced 
837 pounds, or II per cent, more milk than was ob- 
tained from the dry fodder ration. At the Wisconsin 
station the silage ration yielded 377 pounds more milk 
and 22 pounds more fat, a difference in favor of silage 
of 5 per cent in milk and 6 per cent in fat. 

Losses in the Siloing and Field Curing — Whether 
the changes which occur in the silo be due to the ac- 
tivity of certain ferments, as has been held for a long 
time, or whether the results of recent investigations, 
indicating that these changes are mainly due to res- 
piratory processes which continue as long as the plant 
cells live, be accepted, the more important fact to the 
feeder remains unaltered, that these changes are ac- 
companied by a material loss of organic matter, and 
that such loss is largely proportionate to the amount of 
oxygen or air admitted to the mass. That the more 
perfectly the mass be compacted, and the more nearly 
air-tight the silo, the less the loss. The necessary, or 
at least unavoidable, loss under practical conditions 
seems to be approximately fifteen per cent of dry mat- 
ter — that is, the feeder takes out of the silo between 
one-seventh and one-sixth less dry matter than he puts 
in. It is moreover true that the loss falls most heavily 
on the sugars, which are more or less completely con- 
verted into acids. To some extent changes occur in 
the nitrogenous compound which affect adversely their 
feeding value. 



220 . THE BOOK OF CORN 

Attention has been sharply drawn to these losses 
in preserving silage, with the result that many have 
been deterred from adopting this system. Careful in- 
quiries in a number of states into the losses accom- 
panying the field curing process amply justify the 
conclusion that under the most favorable conditions 
they are quite as large as in the siloing system, and 
under ordinary circumstances are considerably larger. 
The loss in feeding the dry fodder, the uneaten portion 
of the stalk, must be added to the unavoidable loss in 
field curing. In the experiments already quoted with 
coarse stover, this loss amounted to approximately 
forty per cent of the total weight of fresh substance 
fed, while in the same experiment less than eight per 
cent of the silage was refused. While this portion of 
the plant is not perhaps as digestible, and certainly not 
as palatable as the portion eaten, yet experiments by 
Jordan and Patterson show that a considerable amount 
of digestible matter is contained in the lower half of 
the stalk wdiich is available to the animals if they can 
be induced by any practical means to consume it. In 
overcoming this loss, or in inducing the animals to 
eat practically all of the plant, lies perhaps the greatest 
single benefit to be derived from siloing. 

Finally, the advantage of silage over field-cured 
material to the dairA'man has been proved by an abun- 
dance of practical experience. Experiments made at 
the Missouri station clearly indicate that for wintering 
stock cattle of all classes it possesses decided advan- 
tages over the field-curing system. For cattle on full 
feed the testimony is conflicting, and there is yet some 
doubt as to whether it is feasible under ordinary cir- 
cumstances to feed steers that are carrying considera- 
ble flesh ver\' much silage. For sheep its value is 
already well recognized. 

Silage vs Roots — Many feeders concede the ne- 



FEEDING 



22T 



cessity for some succulent food during the winter 
months, who, however, insist that some one of the root 
crops is more satisfactory than silage, basing their 
opmion upon the belief that a larger yield of dry diges- 
tible matter may be produced with roots than with 
corn, and that the roots have a materially higher feed- 
ing value. It will not be contended that an acre of 
roots can be grown, harvested and fed as cheaply as 
an equal area of corn. On the contrary, the results of 
careful experiments and the most reliable estimates 
from experienced and successful growers indicate that 
an acre of roots will cost under the most favorable 
circumstances fully three times as much as an acre 
of corn. 

From an experiment extending over three years 
at the Pennsylvania station by Professor Waters, it 
was found that the yield of digestible matter in man- 
gels or sugar beets was on the average about half that 
of corn. In other words, it required approximately 
two acres of beets to be equivalent in this respect to 
one acre of corn. Attention is invited to the following 
table showing the comparative yields of corn and roots 
at a number of the stations : 

DRY MATTER PER ACRE, ROOTS AND GREEN FODDER CORN 





Ruta- 
bagas 


Mangels 


Turnips 


Sugar 
beets 


Corn 


Maine station- 
Green substance, lb? 
Dry matter, lbs 


31,695 
3,415 


15,375 
1,613 


28,500 
2,559 


17,645 
2,590 


39.645 
5,680 


Pennsylvania stat'n — 
Green substance, lbs 
Dry matter, lbs 




ir,,i77 




11.4.S6 
2,010 


18,.'i91 
5,522 


Ohio.station — 
Green substance, lbs 
Dry matter, lbs 




31.500 
3,000 






' 6,000 


Ontario station a~ 
Green substance, lbs 
Dry matter, lbs 


42,780 

4,877 


55,320 
5,034 


46,120 
4,382 


32,663 
4,737 


41.172 
8,135 



a Henry's Feeds and Feeding'. 



222 THE COOK OF CORN 

In view of the fact, therefore, tliat beets are fully 
threefold more expensive to g-row and yield only about 
half as much digestible matter, it would be necessary 
for them to possess approximately six times the feed- 
ing value of corn silage in order to establish even a 
parity between the two classes of foods. 

Careful experiments, however, in Pennsylvania, 
Ohio and Vermont show beyond question that there is 
little or no difference between the feeding value of the 
dry matter of the two feeds, and the small difference 
was found to be uniformly in favor of the silage. From 
every point of view, therefore, the great disadvanta.':::e 
of root crops in competition with corn is perfectly 
apparent. 

Soiling — No plant now known to us equals corn in 
its adaptability to the soiling system. Varieties may be 
selected which will yield a continuous crop of succu- 
lent food, mature enough to have a high feeding value, 
from the middle of June until the severe frosts of 
autumn. The practice of rel\'ing upon corn almost 
exclusively from the time the earliest variety can be 
brought to a reasonable state of maturity until the 
close of the season, is well founded and fully justified 
by the results of scientific research. Corn has the ad- 
vantage of yielding a larger quantity of digestible mat- 
ter per acre at less cost than any other crop suited to 
soiling, and furthermore it may be harvested, handled 
and fed more conveniently than any of the other crops 
used, and has a higher feeding value. 

The problem with those who follow this system is 
to find some plant to cover the period of early spring 
before corn can be brought to maturity. In the solu- 
tion of this problem it has been found that corn silage 
kept over from the preceding season will answer this 
purpose more fully and more satisfactorily than anv 
crop that can be grown at that season of the year. 



FEEDING 223 

Thus the com plant lends itself to the farmer who by 
reason of limited area and high-priced land is forced 
to produce the largest possible quantity per acre, quite 
as well as to the farmer on the broad, fertile prairies 
of the west, where the greatest possible number of 
acres must be managed by one man. 



CHAPTER XTII 

iHarkpliuQ 

^^THE wisest distribution of an annual crop of 
I 1 com, exceeding' two billion bushels, is no less 
^^ important to farmers as a whole and to the 
maize g;rower in particular than is its economic 
production. Fortunately for all, our splendid corn 
crop never "goes a begging." There is always an 
outlet for every bushel. The amount carried over 
from one crop year to another is never burdensome, 
except in the mind of the bearish operator, whose 
wish is father to the thought when he says the surplus 
is too large. 

As shown on other pages, the states growing 
more com than needed for home use are located prin- 
cipally in the Ohio valley and the Mississippi basin. 
Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana 
and Ohio are popularly known as the seven great sur- 
plus corn states, because they grow enough for their 
enormous home consumption and also have liberal 
quantities to ship outside their borders. In recent years 
Texas has also greatly increased the corn area, but the 
product goes princi[)ally toward maintaining her, exten- 
sive live stock interests. 

The splendid home demand in these states, as well 
as in every state where corn is grown, is one of the 
most satisfactory features in crop distribution. Corn 
grown at home and converted into beef, pork, mutton 
and dairy products is a commonplace, yet none the less 
a valuable example of the merit of changing over raw 
material into finished product, adding directly to the 
gain of the farmer and to the wealth of the country. 



MARKETING 225 

THE HOME MARKET THE BEST MARKET 

Roundly speaking-, ninety per cent of the corn crop 
of the United States is wanted for domestic consump- 
tion. In the states given over so extensively to corn, 
at lowest cost of production, it is but natural that feed- 
ing operations on the farm are most largely carried 
on, and the bulk of the crop never leaves the counties 
where grown. This, therefore, disposes of most of the 
product each year to what may be truly characterized a 
home market of the best sort. The comparatively 
small, yet important proportion of the maize crop not 
fed at home, finds ready outlet through the usual mar- 
ket channels. A considerable amount is used in the 
domestic mechanic arts, and foreign countries are 
always interested buyers of any surplus beyond home 
requirements. 

In the grain trade, corn is the leading cereal in bulk 
and second only to wheat in speculative interest. Corn 
forms an important item in rail, lake and canal trans- 
portation, and also in the cargo of vessels engaged in 
the ocean-carrying trade. The approved methods of 
handling corn, producer to consumer, are not neces- 
sarily perfect, but are the best yet evolved in the econ- 
omy of distribution. Fortunately for the corn grower 
who desires to market this product in the form of 
grain, middlemen's tolls are reduced to a minimum 
compared with those exacted in the handling of perish- 
able, and therefore more hazardous products. 

METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION IN VOGUE 

To many farmers in the corn belt, long engaged 
in growing this crop for market, methods of marketing 
are an old story. To others, including the vast num- 
ber of farmers and dairymen in the older middle and 
eastern states, who depend to some extent upon west- 



226 TIIF. r.OOK OF CORN 

ern feedstuffs, a brief outline of methods in vog^ue will 
be read with interest and profit. 

The first step in the flow of corn from farm to 
ultimate consumption is to the j^reat distributinj:;- cen- 
ters of the west, known as primary points. These 
include Chicago, Kansas City, St Louis and others of 
less importance. The second stage begins at these dis- 
tributing centers in the grading, temporary warehous- 
ing, storing and reshipment via rail, river and lake. 
The destination is eastern or southern distributing cen- 
ters of secondary consideration, and tide water rest- 
ing places for loading into ocean vessels for for- 
eign coimtrics. 

Transportation — Rates of freight from country 
loading station to primary market or to the seaboard, 
rates of commission for handling, storage charges, etc, 
together with the current price of the various grades 
every business day in the year, are easily available to 
the farmer and the country dealer. All such may be 
relatively as well posted on market conditions as the 
big operator on the Chicago board of trade or on the 
New York and foreign produce exchanges. Theoreti- 
cally, the farmer with a single carload of corn enjoys 
as good an opportunity to secure full market value for 
his product as the operator on a large .scale, but this 
does not always follow. In spite of legislative effort 
to equalize freight rates, and the work of the Interstate 
Commerce Commission, transportation companies too 
frequently make it possible for the large shipper to 
enjoy rebates, giving him enormous advantage over 
others, including the farmer with a single carload. 

THE LINE ELEVATOR SYSTEMS, 

covering a large part of the corn belt, now handle an 
important part of the corn as originally sold by pro- 



MARKETING 227 

ducers. Some one of these may own or control a 
score, or fifty, or a hundred country elevators at as 
many shipping stations, each operated by an agent of 
the company, which in turn works in harmony with the 
railroad system covering the same territory. The 
prices paid farmers for corn are very largely governed 
by current quotations in the big distributing centers, 
freight rates duly considered. In many instances, 
farmers feel they do not secure all the market will 
stand, through lack of competitive bidding, and gladly 
welcome the -advent of outside buyers. This is what 
has brought so rapidly to the front in the past few 
years the "farmers' elevators," described on an- 
other page. 

The country buyer, no matter whether represent- 
ing a line elevator or an independent concern, must be 
a good judge of grade and quality in the city markets. 
After temporary storage, and possibly cleaning at 
country point, the corn is shipped to a great distribut- 
ing center, such as Chicago, where the car is inspected 
by the state grain inspection department and graded 
according to the classifications of that presumably im- 
partial body. 

PUBLIC GRAIN WAREHOUSES 

In order to handle the grain crops quickly and 
economically, enormous storage facilities are necessary, 
both at centers of accumulation in the grain growing 
states, at various transfer points on the Great Lakes 
and at tide water. Mention has been made elsewhere 
of the country elevator systems, also allusion to ware- 
houses at the seaboard. In accompanying cut (Fig 
58), a typical modern grain warehouse is shown. An 
idea of its bulk and magnitude is afforded by compar- 
ing its hight with that of the trains of cars which are 
pushed directly into and through it for loading and 
unloading. This elevator, located in Chicago, has a 



228 THE BOOK OF CORN 

capacity oi one million bushels j^rain, and, like dozens 
of its fellows, is equipped with all modern arrange- 
ments in the way of tracks, elevators, bins, etc. 

Under the rules of the Chicago board of trade, 
and this is substantially true of other leading grain 
exchanges, licenses are each year granted various 
warehouse systems, declaring them "regular" houses 
for the storage of grain and flaxseed. These are under 
the supervision of the state grain inspection depart- 
ment, and all grain and seeds handled therein are 
represented by negotiable warehouse certificates, which 
enter largely into the grain traffic. The total capacity 
of the regular warehouses in Chicago is twenty-seven 
million two hundred and fifty thousand bushels. In 
addition to these are a considerable number of what are 
technically known as "irregular" warehouses, the pro- 
prietors for various reasons not caring to operate them 
under the rules of the board of trade. These outside 
houses have a total capacity of thirty million four hun- 
dred and seventy thousand bushels, and there is here 
suggested an aggregate capacity for the storage of fifty- 
seven million seven hundred and twenty thousand 
bushels grain in Chicago. 

Under the rules of the Chicago board of trade 
the established storage rate of grain and flaxseed 
received in bulk is three-fourths of a cent per bushel 
for the first ten days, and one-fiftieth of a cent per 
bushel per day for each additional day thereafter. 

Inspection r\dcs relating to corn vary somewhat 
in (hTferent states. • As a fair index of trade require- 
ments, herewith are printed the rules governing 
inspection of grain in Chicago, according to the speci- 
fications of the state board railroad and warehouse 
commissioners. 

No I yellow corn shall be yellow, sound, dry, 
p1nm]i and well cleaned. 



MARKETING 229 

No 2 yellow corn shall be three-fourths yellow, 
dry, reasonably clean, but not plump enough for No i. 

No 3 yellow corn shall be three-fourths yellow, 
reasonably dry and reasonably clean, but not suffi- 
ciently sound for No 2. 

No 2 white corn shall be seven-eighths white, dry, 
reasonably clean, but not plump enough for No i. 

No 3 white com shall be seven-eighths white, 
reasonably dry and reasonably clean, but not suffi- 
ciently sound for No 2. 

No 2 corn shall be mixed corn, dry, reasonably 
clean, but not good enough for No i. 

No 3 corn shall be mixed corn, reasonably dry 
and reasonably clean, but not sufficiently sound for 
No 2. 

THE SALE OF CORN BY SAMPLE ON 'CHANGE 

Unless previous distribution has been arranged 
for, the car is generally consigned to a commission 
merchant, who takes a portion of the official sample 
furnished by the inspection department, with the then 
known grade, the sample representing a fair average 
of the contents of the car. The inspection department 
temporarily reserves its own portion of the sample in 
case of controversy. Very often the commission mer- 
chant also takes an independent average sample of the 
car for purposes of comparison. These samples, with 
grade and car number attached (with hundreds of 
their fellows) are offered on change, and are sold on 
their merits the same as any other commodity in mer- 
cantile life, whether it be cotton goods, raw wool, pine 
shingles, or iron ore. 

The buyers represent many interests ; those en- 
gaged in the shipping business want to make up a 
cargo of corn for Buffalo or New Orleans, or for ex- 
port account ; a distiller or a glucose house wants a 



230 THE BOOK OF CORN 

round lot for manufacturing- purposes ; a miller wants 
a car for grinding-. Oftentimes the buying is for ac- 
count of city elevator concerns, which accumulate large 
quantities, using same for speculative purposes, and 
ultimately for shipment to the seaboard and foreign 
countries. 

The price, however, in any instance is governed 
very largely by the speculative market. This in turn 
is dominated by influences emanating not only from 
the Chicago corn pit, but from the seaboard markets, 
and from conditions in western Europe which, after 
all, very largely determine what shall be paid for the 
surplus grain crops of the entire world. Trading is on 
a spot cash basis, and the transaction may be made 
much quicker than the time required to describe it. 
After deducting freights, commission charges, etc, a 
check in payment is immediately sent the country ship- 
per, and the transaction is complete so far as he is 
concerned. 

Rates of comniissioti for selling corn on the prod- 
uce exchanges are fairly uniform ; on the Chicago board 
of trade one-half cent per bushel is the established 
rate. Other charges include storage, if any, inspec- 
tion, etc. 

THE SPECULATIVE TRADE IN GRAIN 

The produce exchanges, or the boards of trade, 
terms generally used synonymously, serve as clearing 
houses for transactions in farm produce as here indi- 
cated. The line of demarcation between the so-called 
"purely speculative" and "strictly legitimate" transac- 
tions is so fine at times that it is scarcely discernible. 
Suffice it here to say that influences aflfecting grain 
prices are often and largely speculative in a world-wide 
sense. 

Influences Affecting Prices — To be thoroughly 
'successful, the farmer who grows com for market 



MARKETING 23I 

must keep posted on general conditions. It is not suf- 
ficient to know that there is a crop shortage in his own 
state, or, on the other hand, one more than abundant. 
The probabih'ties of the domestic consumptive demand 
should be familiar ; to the one handling grain, some- 
thing of reserves carried over from a preceding crop ; 
conditions abroad, as to probable requirements for 
feed purposes ; crop outlook, etc. The export demand 
and the foreign markets, while not so important in 
corn as in wheat, are always influential in shaping home 
prices, except in seasons of crop shortage (such as 
1901-2), when this is less pronounced. 

Selling "Short" in Spectilative Market — The spec- 
ulative end of the corn market is made up very largely 
of "short sales," by bearish operators. These believe 
they can sell the contract grade at the then existing 
market price, even though they do not possess it, with a 
view of subsequently, say within sixty or ninety days, 
buying it in lower, on these time contracts, and keep 
the difference as profit. Short selling has been de- 
cried for many years, and the subject of frequent hot 
contests, not only in trade channels, but in state and 
national legislatures. Much may be said on both sides 
of this great question. 

While in nowise standing sponsor for the spec- 
ulators, it is proper here to state the attitude of so 
responsible an organization as the Chicago board of 
trade. This can best be epitomized in a brief para- 
graph from the report of a special committee, several 
years ago appointed by the board of directors of the 
Chicago board of trade to investigate a proposition to 
change the method of doing business to a system popu- 
larly termed spot cash, eliminating entirely buying and 
selling "futures." 

"By the form of contract under which members of the 
board of trade buy and sell property for future delivery, either 



232 THE BOOK OF CORN 

party can compel its literal fulfillment by the original parties 
thereto, and neither party can (without the consent of the 
other) escape his obligation under and upon such contract, to 
deliver or receive the actual property described in its provi- 
sions. The fact that a large proportion of the contracts 
entered into are closed at the market price, instead of by 
actual delivery of property, argues no more against them than 
that the present bank clearing-house system does not require 
the passing of the currency by each bank upon each individual 
check that is drawn in due course of general business." 

Nearly all the com received at Chicago in a given 
year is handled on the hoard of trade. The receipts of 
corn during tlie calendar year 1901 were 84,136,637 
bushels, and in 1900, the heaviest on record, 134,663,- 
456 bushels. In 1902 the movement was smaller, 
amounting to 50,622,907 bushels. During the past 
forty years, which practically covers the period 
of speculative trading in corn, Chicago received 
in round numbers 2,500,000,000 bushels. Other lead- 
ing primary markets include Kansas City and St Louis, 
with a considerable quantity also received from first 
hands each season at Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, 
Milwaukee, Omaha and Minneapolis. 

Fig 56 affords a good idea of the stibstantial 
character of the English grain warehouses. This ware- 
hotise is close to the Alexandra docks at Liverpool 
and is one of the largest in the United Kingdom. It 
has five delivery subways, each of which can handle 
eighty tons of grain an hour. It contains two hun- 
dred and fifty bins, hexagonal in shaj^e, each seventy- 
five feet deep, thirty-five feet wide, with a capacity 
of two hundred and twenty tons, a total for the ware- 
house of two million bushels. Grain is transported 
in ocean vessels, both in bags and in bulk. The ware- 
house fronts the Mersey, the unloading being done 
direct from vessel with machinery of the most perfect 
character. 



234 THE BOOK OF CORN 

THE NON-FARM CONSUMPTION OF CORN 

In the United States this is important, affording 
considerable aid to market prices, ilie chief consum- 
ers under this head are the distilleries, starch manu- 
facturers and glucose works. A business of much mag- 
nitude is done in milling corn for table purposes, with 
such resultant products as corn meal, com flour, 
blended flour (a mixture of wheat flour and corn flour) 
and breakfast cereals. Enormous quantities of coarse 
corn meal and mixed feeds, including such by-products 
as gluten meal, are used in the cities and in dairy sec- 
tions west and east. No figures are available showing 
the proportion of the crop utilized under this head. 
Further details regarding these products may be found 
in the chapter on New Uses of Corn. 

Glucose, the sugar of corn, results from the trans- 
formation of the starch in the corn by chemical process. 
Another by-product of corn is dextrin, largely used in 
the manufacture of mucilages and sizes. Corn oil is 
one of the most important by-products in the manufac- 
ture of glucose, is used to some extent in making soap, 
but largely for mixing, with other oils, owing to its 
emulsifying properties. Starch is a very important by- 
product of corn, turned out not only by starch factories 
but also by glucose manufacturers, meeting extensive 
sale for laundry purposes, as a size, and for use in 
cotton mills. 

Increasing^ Importance of Corn Oil — Corn oil pos- 
sesses a fine flavor, and is often mixed with olive oil 
and sometimes is used in Norway for mixing with cod 
liver oil. Naturally, when bottled and labeled, there 
is no reference to the fact that any portion of the mix- 
ture in either case is com oil. The wholesale price of 
the last-named is about thirty to forty cents per gallon. 
Corn oil is used to some extent as a substitute for lin- 



MARKETING 235 

seed oil in painting, owing- to its lower price. It dries 
more slowly than linseed oil. Manufacturers are en- 
deavoring 10 increase the supply of corn oil, for 
use in the mechanic arts, by the aid of a naphtha and 
steam process long followed in France in extracting 
vegetable oils. Some progress has been made in the 
use of corn oil in producing a substitute for rubber by 
a process of vulcanization. Vulcanized corn oil may be 
mixed with pure rubber in various proportions, the 
resultant being softer and less elastic than pure rubber, 
but also equally acid proof. It enters into the manu- 
facture of rubber boots, bicycle tires, etc, greatly re- 
ducing the cost of the finished product. It is not as 
good as rubber. 

Considerable quantities of corn oil are now ex- 
ported, chiefly to Belgium, Holland, and the United 
Kingdom, in about the order named. In the fiscal year 
1902 exports of corn oil from the United States were 
4,266,398 gallons, at an average value of forty-one and 
one-half cents ; of this 2,933,650 gallons went to Bel- 
gium. In 1901 exports were 4,808,545 gallons, having 
an average value of thirty-eight cents ; of this amount 
3,005,000 gallons went to Belgium. Total exports 
in 1900 were 4,383,926 gallons, in 1899 2,360,623 gal- 
lons and in 1898 2,646,560 gallons. 

FOREIGN OUTLET FOR AMERICAN CORN 

Our foreign trade in corn has assumed important 
proportions and is in a most healthy condition. Never 
firmer established than now, exports following a good 
crop easily approximate 200,000,000 bushels in a year. 
When prices are unusually high in seasons following 
a domestic crop shortage, as was the case in 1902, 1894 
and 1891, exports are materially reduced. 

Up to the present, the foreign use of corn is con- 



236 THE BOOK OF CORN 

fined very largely to rations for meat animals and work 
horses. In recent years valuable aid has been given 
our foreign trade through the education of Europe to a 
wider use of corn. The work of the American ISIaize 
Propaganda in the late nineties and at the Paris exposi- 
tion in 1900 was along this line. Possibilities are great, 
especially on the continent, where rye is now so largely 
used as an article of food. Efforts are being made 
from time to time to induce some of the governments to 
utilize corn meal as an army ration. 

The largest buyers of American corn are England, 
Germany, Holland and Denmark, in about the order 
named. Canada is a heavy buyer. The West Indies 
are taking increasing quantities, and this splendid 
cereal finds an outlet in various other parts of the 
world, including South America, Africa, Mexico and, 
in a small way, Asia and the Pacific Islands. Argen- 
tine corn is something of a competitor in the old world 
markets, which include Europe, South A.frica, etc. 
Argentine exports of corn are ten to sixtv million 
bushels annually. See Appendix, later pages, for de- 
tailed official figures showing foreign movement of 
com. The United States produces more than eighty 
per cent of the world's corn crop. The next largest 
producers are Austria-Hungary and Argentina. 

Floating elevators are largely used in transfer- 
ring grain from vessels to warehouses, both on this 
side of the Atlantic and in Europe. That illustrated 
in Fig 57, Vvith various modifications, is largely used 
in Liverpool in unloading grain from vessels. It 
contains a lifting apparatus operated on the usual 
principles, and docs the work rapidly. A large part 
of the American grain destined for foreign markets 
is sold "c i f" (cost, insurance and freight), the 
marine insurance and ocean freight being included in 
the cost. 




Fig 57— Floating Grafn Elevator 

Used to some extent at English seaports 



238 THE BOOK OF CORN 

MERITS OF THE COUNTRY ELEVATOR SYSTEM 

Farmers' elevators and co-operative societies for 
the economical handling of corn in producing sections 
are increasing in number. This is particularly true in 
territory west of the Mississippi river. Where inde- 
pendent or "line" elevators lack in competitive bidding, 
or refuse to pay prices satisfactory to producers, city 
markets considered, tfie farmers' elevators find a true 
place. These are usually organized on the co-opera- 
tive plan, farmers adjacent to a given shipping point 
choosing their own officers and manager, subscribing 
for the stock, erecting a new warehouse and elevator, 
or buying and refitting an old one. 

Attitude of Railway Companies — As a rule these 
are quite willing to grant switching facilities, in their 
logical effort to develop the production of any given 
commodity which will mean more business. The char- 
ter being secured, and the elevator built and equipped, 
the farmers' company buys grain from producer and 
operator as any other business concern. The grain 
dealers' associations operating in various western 
states, and largely made up of line elevators, or those 
with important terminal connections, generally oppose 
the farmers' elevators. In some of these co-operative 
institutions each shareholder is limited to one vote, no 
matter how many shares he may hold. 

At times, when other dealers promise to pay more 
for grain than this elevator, farmers will be allowed to 
sell to the opposition elevator. Proper restrictions are 
observed, however, to prevent grain combinations from 
breaking up the farmers' organizations through tempo- 
rarily paying a stiff advance, perhaps more than mar- 
ket conditions warrant. Growers patronizing farm- 
ers' elevators claim they get the benefit of the premium 
arising from the superior grade of their local product ; 



MARKETING 



239 



that they secure the full value of the grain, freights 
and other charges considered, at a time when the bulk 
of it leaves the farm. Another advantage is the possi- 
bility of storing grain for a time in this farmers' ele- 
vator at a minimum charge, with r view of selling later 
at a possibly higher market price. 




Fig 58— Typical Modern Grain Wareliouse 



CO-OPERATIVE STORING AND SELLING 

Co-operative societies have in numerous instances 
made a great success in handlinfj corn and other 
cereals. Often these societies are formed with a view 
of also buying and handling farm machinery, building 
material, fertilizers, seeds, etc. As a case in point, a 
highly successful farmers' co-operative society was 



240 THE BOOK OF CORN 

organized in Iowa with a capital not to exceed $25,000, 
shares $10 each, no member being permitted to own 
more than ten shares. From a business of $220,000 in 
1895, transactions of this society increased in five years 
to $625,000. The plan is to pay farmers just as much 
for their product as possible, and sell them needed sup- 
]:)lies as cheaply as possible. 

The officers include a business manager who can- 
not assume indebtedness exceeding two-thirds of the 
shares of stock actually paid up. Money can be bor- 
rowed on a two-thirds vote of the officers and directors, 
but the amount must not exceed $5000. Selling mem- 
bers always receive one-fourth cent per bushel more 
for grain than non-selling members. If a member de- 
sires to sell corn to an elevator competing with the 
society's plant, he must pay the society one-fourth cent 
for each bushel sold to the competitor. For example, 
the farmers' elevator is paying thirty-one cents for 
com, and the competing elevator offers thirty-three 
cents; the members sell to it, and after paying the 
society one-fourth cent are still one and three-fourths 
cents ahead. This feature alone has prevented com- 
peting elevators from coming in and paying high 
prices for a considerable time until the farmers' 
elevator is forced out of business. The one-fourth 
cent meets all the running expenses. 



CHAPTER XIV 

(Ham ppsta anb ItspaBpa 

O far as the writer has been able to find out 
by careful examination of records and obser- 
vation, two hundred and nineteen species of 
insects have been recognized and recorded as 
in some way being injurious to some part of the 
corn plant. For the sake of convenience, these have 
been arranged according to their attacks upon the 
various parts of the plant. For instance, eighteen 
are known to infest the seed ; twenty-eight have been 
discovered upon the root and underground parts 
of the stalk ; seventy-seven have been recorded 
as injuring the stalk above ground ; one hundred 
and nineteen attack the leaf" nineteen are known 
to injure in some way the tassel and silk ; forty- 
three work upon the ear in the field ; two have been 
found upon stacked fodder; and twenty-five others in 
corn in store or in manufactured products. Many of 
the species recorded in this list are of minor impor- 
tance, and only the primary ones, found more or less 
injurious to the corn plant every year, are here con- 
sidered. 

Perhaps the most serious injury to corn occurs 
when insects attack the seed and the root. This usu- 
ally happens early in the season, but fortunately for 
farmers, much of this damage can be prevented by 
precautionary and preventive measures at the proper 
time. The following practical hints, as a brief intro- 
duction to this chapter, will assist the average person 
in recognizing the insects responsible for injury to 
com either in the field, in store or in the manufactured 
products. 



242 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



I — Many farmers attribute the failure of corn 
to come up promptly to poor seed, if it does not appear 
in due time under favorable conditions. A careful 
examination of the seed itself should be made for 
evidences of injury by wireworms, seed corn maggots, 
etc, all of which do much damage frequently to seed 
after it is planted. 

2 — At times young plants make a very unequal 
Start. Some hills will appear early and grow rapidly, 




Fig 59— Forms of Wireworms 

(Adapted from drawings by Forbes) 



while others are dwarfed and make no perceptible 
growth. In such cases the roots should be searched 
for the presence of the corn root louse. Ver)- often 
this insect attacks the sprouting plant before the leaf 
shows above the ground. The presence of numer- 
ous large brown ants in the corn land often burrow- 
ing in the hills is also evidence that plant lice are at 
work at the roots. At other times the corn may be 
retarded in large patches, the leaves turning yellow at 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 243 

first and a little later taking on a reddish tinge. In 
such cases a careful digging up of the hill will prob- 
ably reveal the presence of root lice. If none are 
found the difficulty may be attributed to a fungous 
disease known as the root blight of corn which has no 
connection with insect injury. 

3 — Sometimes all the stalks in the hill are colored 
and wither when a foot or less in hight. This condi- 
tion usually follows injury by wireworms and white 
grubs. 

4 — When the corn falls over easily with a slight 
wind storm and does not rise up again in due season, 
one should be suspicious of the presence of the corn 
root worm, as well as injury by white grubs. 

5 — Where the corn remains green too long, ma- 
tures slowly, with many sterile stalks, and contains 
imperfect nubbins and ears, in all probability the com- 
mon corn root worm will be found in abundance 
among the roots, if careful examination is made late 
in August or early September. In such cases large 
numbers of green beetles about the size of the com- 
mon ladybug may be seen at work upon the silks and 
tassels and even upon the pollen collected at the base 
of leaves. They are also found upon the blossoms of 
ragweeds and other flowering plants in the field. 
These are the adults of the com root worm, and such 
fields should not be replanted to corn the follow- 
ing year. 

6 — Frequently young plants will havp the ter- 
minal leaves dwarfed and curled so that the growing 
tips are shriveled. Occasionally the foliage is de- 
formed and of unequal growth, especially the unfold- 
ing of the leaves from the roll at the terminal. These 
are more or less injured, giving the ragged appear- 
ance. Damage of this kind usually occurs when the 
corn is about two feet high and is the work of the first 



244 THE BOOK OF CORN 

generation of the corn worm, while later, the second 
generation is found in the ends of the ears doing seri- 
ous harm late in the summer and early fall. 

7 — Sometimes a series of shot holes are found 
extending across a well-developed leaf. The holes are 
usually elongated and arranged side by side quite 
regularly, and are usually the work of one of the corn 
bill bugs. 

8 — Sometimes the leaves of young corn are irreg- 
ularly eaten away, many of them having a gnawed 
appearance at a time when the stalk is less than a foot 
high. In such instances usually fine particles and 
small lumps of earth at the base of the plant will be 
found closely webbed together in a mass usually about 
the size of an" ordinary walnut. Such condition is the 
result of the work of the root web worm. 

9 — The work of the ordinary cutworm is well 
known to most farmers. • The young corn is usually 
cut above and below the surface of the ground and 
examination usually reveals the culprit hidden in the 
ground not far away. 

lo — If the stalk has a small hole with brown, 
moist powder exuding from it, it is sufficient evidence 
that the cornstalk borer is at work within. These 
creatures do great damage to young com in the spring, 
especially on low ground. 

TT — When an ear is found with the end eaten and 
burrows leading into it from the tip toward the base, 
the destructive corn worm can usually be foiuid. Its 
burrows are usually filled with excrement, discoloring 
and injuring the ears to a considerable extent, while 
they are in the soft stage. 

T2 — Injury by grasshoppers is not uncommon, 
and often the entire leaf is eaten, leaving only the 
midrib, while others are gnawed and filled with irreg- 
ular holes, giving them a very ragged appearance. 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 245 

13 — If the corn in the granary loses materially in 
weight and is filled with small holes, the indications are 
that it has been injured by the grain moth, or weevil. 
Very often the presence of these pests can be ascer- 
tained by the sawdust-like siftings which accumulate 
in the lower part of the bin or crib where they are 
abundant. 

14 — In com meal and other manufactured prod- 
ucts, the Indian meal moth can be ascertained by the 
presence of the young worms and the matting together 
of the meal with small particles of silk spun by the 
larvae or worms. A large number of moths flying 
about the pantry, mill, granary or other places where 
com products are stored, is usually sufficient evidence 
that the products are infested and should be looked 
after without further delay. 

THE SEED IN THE GROUND 

IVirezvorms — The most important of all insects 
that injure seed corn in the ground are wireworms. 
If the seed fails to start or there is a sudden withering 
of the corn plant when a foot or two high, especially 
if the field was in grass one or two years before, there 
is reason to warrant a suspicion of injury by wire- 
worms. In fact, these hard, smooth, shining, yellow- 
ish-brown, cylindrical, six-legged worms are much 
more destructive to seed corn under ground than all 
other insects taken together. They sometimes begin 
their injuries to the seed immediately after planting. 
They bury their heads in it at first, after eating 
entirely through the kernel, occasionally devouring it 
completely. If they attack the growing plant they are 
likely to eat the smaller roots, or to penetrate or bore 
through the larger ones, dwarfing or killing the corn. 
Later when the young plant is several inches high, they 
frequently kill it outright by boring their cylindrical 



246 THE BOOK OF CORN 

channels directly through the underground part of the 
stalk. They are common in corn on ground which has 
been in grass for several years. Usually they are 
much more likely to do serious damage the second 
year after the breaking up of the sod. They should be 
looked after on such lands whenever the seed fails to 
grow, or when the sudden withering of the plant sug- 
gests injury to it underground. Under such circum- 




Flg 60— Parent of Wireworm 

(After Forbes) 

stances practically all the wireworms in the field will 
be found in the hills. It is not unusual to find ten or a 
dozen in each hill. 

The corn wireworms have a strong family resem- 
blance and are not likely to be confused with other 
insects. They vary in length when full grown from 
half an inch to an inch and a quarter, but agree in their 
hard, crust-like surface, ncarlv destitute of hairs ; their 
brownish color, varying from yellowish to reddish ; 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 247 

their slender bodies, distinctly segmented and of about 
equal diameter throughout their length. They live 
mostly in grass lands, feeding largely on the roots. 
Their numbers in such places are rarely sufficient to 
produce any notable effect upon the sod. It is only 
when concentrated in the comparatively scanty vege- 
tation of a field of young corn in spring, or occasion- 
ally in young wheat or other small grain, that they do 
any very great harm. The commonest form of attack 
on the corn, as seen by the farmer, is the burrowing 
of the worm into the kernel. Frequently attacks in the 
field have been so severe, particularly the first and 
second years after the sod has been broken, as to 
require planting a second or third time. 

These pests agree fairly well in their life history. 
They change to the dormant pupae in the earth in July 
or sometime in August. Some three or four weeks 
later they transform to the brown or reddish beetles 
known as "click beetles" or "jumping jacks." They 
are easily distinguished by their peculiar habit of 
springing into the air with a sudden click when placed 
upon their backs. A large part of these fully devel- 
oped beetles remain under ground until spring. Some 
of them come out of the ground in the fall and pass 
the winter in sheltered places ; the remainder emerge 
in spring, laying their eggs mostly in grass lands. Of 
their subsequent life history little is definitely known. 

No class of insects has had prescribed for it a 
longer list of artificial remedies than the wireworms, 
yet none of them is of practical value. Their injuries 
continue practically unchecked. Even poisons of the 
most deadly sort applied to corn previous to planting, 
on food lures distributed through the ground, for the 
purpose of drawing off the attention of these insects 
from com, have proved almost entirely valueless, 
both in the experience of Professor Forbes and in 



248 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the most elaborate trials made by Professors Com- 
stock and Slingerland. Late fall plowing, breaking 
open the pupal chambers, will probably diminish the 
number of these beetles during the following year. 
Professor Forbes has suggested a systematic rota- 
tion intended to interpose between grass and corn a 
crop not vulnerable to the wireworms. Otherwise 
we are substantially without a hint of any means 
of diminishing the ravages of these insects other than 
the time-honored resource of the corn farmer, namely, 
late planting of his com the second year after sod, 
and late replanting if the first planting is destroyed. 
In the latter case it is well to plant between the 
rows, allowing the first corn to stand as long as is 
consistent with a proper cultivation of the field. 
All the wireworms being at the time concentrated 
on the old hills, if these be destroyed, when the field 
is planted the second time, the wireworms still active 
in tlie earth are forced to attack the freshly planted 
kernels as their only food resource. 

Even a clean fallow for an entire season Avill not 
starve out the worms and neither buckwheat, mustard, 
nor rape crops, frequently recommended to clear the 
earth of wireworms, will accomplish the desired result. 
Salt applied at the rate of sixteen hundred pounds per 
acre, a heavy dressing, neither drives the wireworms 
deeper into the soil nor causes them to migrate to any 
appreciable distance. Kainit used as a fertilizer in 
very large quantities has little effect if any on the 
worms. The same may be said of muriate of potash, 
lime and chloride of lime. Gas lime is capable of 
destroying the worms but has to be applied in such 
large quantities as to be impracticable on large areas. 
The most promising method for relief is crop rotation, 
in which clover follows grass and is itself followed by 
corn. According to this plan pastures and meadows 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 249 

of grass might lie unchanged for several years, being 
plowed when broken up in late summer or early fall 
and sown to clover in the spring, either with oats or 
on winter wheat or rye sown the fall before." The 
clover should be allowed to stand a second year, and 
might be followed with corn, with positive assurance 
that the wireworms originally in the sod would by that 
time have entirely disappeared. 

Seed Corn Maggots — Two somewhat common 
injuries to seed corn in the ground are due to small 
white maggots without legs, one apparently headless, 
with much the form and general appearance of a very 
small blowfly larva, and the other with a smooth, con- 
spicuous head of a shining jet black color. The first is 
called the seed corn maggot and infests corn only, so 
far as is known. The second is the black-headed grass 
maggot, injuring corn only when it follows grass. 
Both these maggots penetrate the kernel, feeding on 
the mealy inner part, leaving the outer shell. The 
former transforms during the summer to a small two- 
winged fly similar in form to the house fly. The latter 
becomes a slender small black gnat, somewhat resem- 
bling the mosquito. The fly is not likely to be noticed, 
but the gnat of the grass maggot is often seen in large 
numbers near the ground in early spring. The seed 
corn maggot penetrates the grain commonly after 
it sprouts but before it appears above ground, killing 
the germ or the growing shoot and finally hollow- 
ing out the interior so as to leave only the harder 
outer part of the kernel. Unsprouted kernels softened 
by lying in the earth are also frequently penetrated 
in a way to destroy the germ, as shown in the illustra- 
tion (Fig 6t). The adult is a small two-winged fly, 
about a fifth of an inch long, and not unlike a house 
fly in general appearance. There is evidence that only 
a single brood a year occurs. 



250 THE BOOK OF CORN 

When the spring- is cool and wet after corn plant- 
ing, so that the softened seed lies long in the ground 
without sprouting, it is especially liable to certain 
kinds of injury, and it is under these conditions that 
the black -headed maggot seems most likely to afifect it. 
Rotting grain is undoubtedly preferred. It has occa- 
sionally been seen to infest kernels that had begun to 
grow. It lives normally in old sod, feeding chiefly on 
decaying vegetation there, and will be found in notice- 
able numbers in corn fields only where the field was in 
grass the preceding year. These maggots penetrate 
and hollow out the kernel, often leaving nothing more 




o 

Fig 61— Seed Com Injured by Seed Com Maggot 

(After Forbes) 

than an empty hull. Several of them may infest a 
single grain. They are slender, footless white mag- 
gots, except that the head is jet black, about one-third 
of an inch long when full grown and of nearly uni- 
form diameter throughout. The body is soft and 
flexible and the movements of the maggot are slug- 
gish. The species is very common. 

In his observations, Professor F. H. Chittenden 
of the United States department of agriculture says 
that one of the best means of deterring the parent flies 
from depositing their eggs consists in sand soaked in 
kerosene, one cupful to a bucket of dry sand, placed 
at the base of the plants, along the rows. This also 
kills young larvae that might attempt to work through 
the mixture. Fertilizers, preferably kainit and nitrat3 



CORN TESTS AND DISEASES 25 1 

of soda, are also useful as deterrents, particularly 
when employed just before or after a shower has thor- 
oughly wet the ground. They should be applied as 
nearly as possible to the roots, and the earth should be 
turned away from the plants for this purpose. This 
remedy has the advantage of acting as a fertilizer as 
well as a preventive of insect attack. As soon as 
plants show signs of wilting, and this maggot is 
known to be present in the field, the injured plants 
should be promptly pulled and destroyed. These 
methods of control have been used with success against 
onion maggots and similar root-feeding species. 

The IV kite Grub — Injuries of white grubs to corn 
may begin as soon as the roots are fairly well started, 
and will range according to the age of the plant, kind 
of weather, and the age and abundance of the grubs. 
There may be only a slight and temporary retarda- 
tion of growth but a complete destruction of all the 
corn is not uncommon. Logs of the tap root exposes 
the plant to severe suffering by early drouth, and it is 
often so reduced in vigor from root injury that it fails 
to form brace roots at the proper time, and hence has 
so slight a hold upon the earth that it cannot keep 
itself erect or recover itself after prostration. In any 
case where the plant is yellowed, or dwarfed, or killed 
outright, especially if these appearances be most 
marked on the higher, lighter parts of the field, the 
presence of white grubs may be suspected. As the 
roots of an infested plant are evidently eaten away, 
injury by the white grub is not easily mistaken for 
any other. The presence of the insects themselves, in 
the earth among the roots, is not hard to detect. If 
they are not thus found where other evidence points to 
them as the cause of the injury, they may frequently 
be discovered by digging down a foot or two in the 
worst injured tracts. 



252 THE BOOK OF CORN 

The adult beetles of the more abundant forms 
spend the winter in the earth in cells where they orig- 
inated, emerg-ing in spring and early summer. Warm 
and genial days in spring often bring them suddenly 
out in myriads where previously only scattered 
individuals have been seen, and their flight at night 
is free when the weather is warm. The grubs feed 
only during the season of growing vegetation, usu- 




Fig 62— Adult of White Grub 

May or June beetle, male; enlarged (after Forbes) 

ally going down into the earth from the middle to 
the last of November to a depth varying according 
to the severity of the winter weather, and coming 
up again within reach of food commonly sometime 
in March or early April. Full-grown white grubs 
will live an active life in the earth, feeding freely 
from March to June or July, during which months 
they change to the pupa a few inches under ground 
in oval cells. At least some species of the white 
grub may be freely and abundantly bred in fields 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 253 

of corn ; but it still remains true that by far the 
greater number of those in the country at any time 
have arisen from eggs laid by beetles in ground bear- 
ing a crop of grass ; and that corn is consequently 
much more likely to be damaged if planted on sod 
thaji if it follows clover, small grain, or corn itself. 

The first effort of the corn farmer should be 
directed to clearing the grubs out of the grass land 
which he wishes to plant to corn. For this purpose 
Professor Forbes thinks that hogs should be pastured 
for a considerable time on the meadows or pastures 
before plowing for corn, and that they should also be 




Fig 63— White Grub 

Young of the June beetle; enlarged (after Forbes) 

given the run of the field while it is being plowed. 
This measure will be practically useless under ordinary 
circumstances, if resorted to later than October or 
earlier than April. In the interval between these 
months the grubs will be beyond the reach of pigs, 
buried in their winter quarters. After plowing, the 
collection by hand of white grubs may be resorted to 
where they are particularly abundant, especially where 
any kind of cheap labor may be had. Owing to the 
relatively small damage done to clover by the grubs, 
it is a good practice to insert clover between grass and 
corn in the rotation : and this is especially advisable 
in light soils not perfectly adapted to corn. Here it 



-^54 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



will have the effect of not only eliminating the grubs, 
but will also diminish the damage to the following 
crops of corn by increasing the strength of the land, 
thus helping the corn plant to withstand such loss of 
roots as it may be subjected to. Generous treatment 
of the soil by heavy fertilization, thorough cultivation, 
and the like will diminish loss to corn by enabling 
plants attacked to throw out new roots. The man- 




Fig 64— Adult Click Beetle 

(After Forbes) 

agement of corn on land containing grubs should also 
be directed to the protection of the plants from drouth, 
as dry weather takes a double effect by retarding root 
growth. 

To prevent the laying of the eggs of the June 
beetle in the corn field in May and June, it is desir- 
able that the ground should be kept practically free 
from weeds at that time, as it is well known that a sur- 
face growth of vegetation is a strong attraction to 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES ' 255 

these insects searching for places suitable for the 
support of the young. Professor Forbes says direct 
remedies for the attacks of white grubs are either inap- 
plicable to the corn field, are of doubtful economic 
value, or are too little understood, as yet, to make them 
worthy of recommendation. For example, kerosene 
emvilsion may properly be applied to infested lawns, 
and, if followed by a copious watering, may kill large 
numbers of the grubs, but the cost of the material and 
treatment will preclude its use against grubs in corn ; 




Fig 65— Pale Striped Flea Beetle 

(After Chittenden) 

and kainit and other potash fertilizers will destroy 
grubs in the earth, but for this purpose must be used at 
a rate inadmissible in farm practice. 

The southern corn roof ivorm will probably be 
found much more generally present in corn fields than 
indicated by reports. Its injuries are very similar in 
general character and eflFect to those of the much more 
abundant and better known northern corn root worm, 
mentioned below. The presence of this root worm in 
the field gives origin to the usual general eflfects of the 
loss of roots by the plant, varying according to the age 



256 THE BOOK OF CORN 

of the corn, the gravity of the injury, kind of soil and 
weather. In the young plant about six inches high, 
the characteristic perforations of the stalk under- 
ground may result in the sudden withering of the 
whole plant, or more commonly, in the killing of the 
central leaf or tuft of growing leaves — an appearance 
which has given to this insect the common name of the 
"bud worm" in some of the southern states. In cer- 
tain instances the jilant has been killed, as the writer 
observed in Maryland, almost as soon as it was 
sprouted. 

As the season advances the corn in the affected 
fields is likely to be uneven, and later, as the plant 
becomes topheavy " with growth, it may fall when the 




Fig 66— Southern Corn Root Worm 

Dorsal view; enlarged five diameters (after Forbes) 

soil is softened by rains, especially during storms. 
Having once so fallen, it will, if badly injured, fail to 
rise again ; and it may further be seen that the plant 
has but little hold upon the ground, a whole hill, per- 
haps, being readily pulled up with one hand. As a 
consequence of the loss of roots and the general weak- 
ening of the plant, many stalks fail to set the ear, or 
form only a nubbin. The injured plant also matures 
slowly, remaining green longer than the average, and 
being thus especially subject to injury by frost. A 
closer examination ot the young plant will commonly 
show a perforation of the underground part of the 
stem either at or near the upper circle of the roots. 
Later, as the plant increases in size, the roots them- 
selves are seen to be gnawed irregularly, great holes or 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 



257 



notches being eaten out, first in one direction and then 
in another, until the roots are severed or consumed. 
In the larger roots the larva may perhaps completely 
bury itself. In well-grown corn it very commonly 
bores into the stalk beneath the upper circle of brace 
roots, or behind the sheath of the lower leaf, in which 
habit it differs from the northern corn root worm. It 
is a soft, slender-bodied, worm-like insect, a little over 




Fig 67— Beetle of Southern Corn Root Worm 

Enlarged five and two-thirds diameters (after Forbes) 

an inch long when full grown, and nearly ten times as 
long as thick. 

The fact that its injuries to corn occur without 
apparent reference to the crop of the previous year 
makes it unlikely that the favorite method of rotation 
will serve for the protection of corn against this species. 
Sweet corn seems to be much more liable to injurv 
than the field varieties, from which fact we may sur- 
mise that the time of planting has something to do with 



258 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the intensity of the attack. The vicinity of cucumDers, 
squashes, and other of the commoner food plants of the 
beetle may account for this seemin^^ preference. 

Northern Corn Root Worm — It is not an uncom- 
mon thing for the farmer to find his corn wilting and 
falling over very easily during the months of June 
and July. He wonders why it does not take root. The 
fact is the roots have been destroyed by a slender white 
worm not thicker than a pin, about a quarter of 
an inch long, with a small brown head and six very 
short legs. It begins its attacks on the roots in May 
and June, eating its way beneath the surface, and kill- 
ing the .root as fast as it grows. Late in July or early 
August the worm settles near the base of the hill, 
where it transforms. In a few days a bright grass green 
beetle emerges, scarcely more than a quarter of an 
inch long. It climbs up the stalk and feeds on the fine 
yellow dust or pollen and upon the fresh silk at the end 
of the ear ; when the silk dries out, some of the beetles 
creep down between the husks and feed upon the corn 
• itself, while others fly to such weeds as are in blossom. 

The female lays its eggs in the ground in Septem- 
ber and October upon or about the roots of corn. The 
beetles die late in the fall. The eggs remain in the 
ground over winter and do not hatch until after the 
ground has been plowed and planted to corn in the 
spring. The ]irincipal injury is done by the worms in 
their attack upon the roots ; but some harm is done by 
the adult beetles, when numerous, by eating the silk- 
before the kernels are fertilized by the pollen. They 
also occasionally destroy a few kernels in the tip of the 
ear. Although the roots penetrated by the worms die 
and decay, thrifty corn will throw out new ones to 
replace those lost, and this is most likely to occur in 
moist rich ground in wet seasons. The damage is 
therefore greatest on high ground and in dry weather, 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 259 

and the use of manure will palliate, but not wholly 
obviate the injury. Little or no mischief is done except 
in fields that have been in corn during the year or two 
preceding, and a frequent change of crops is therefore 
a complete preventive. 

STALK AND LEAF 

CuHvorms — Corn growers for many years have 
suffered serious annual loss from the ravages of cut- 
worms. These losses are becoming more apparent in 
sections where crimson clover and* other crops are 
grown on the corn lands for turning down in the 
spring as a soiling crop. Such fields furnish ideal 
places the early and latter part of the season for the 
parent insects to deposit their eggs and for the young 
worms to feed. The result is that when the crop is 
turned under the worms remain below the ground for 
a time feeding upon the leaves, stems and roots unt'l 
ihe corn is up, and then they emerge and concentrate 
upon the delicate plants. In many instances the 
second planting is cut off. 

The parent insects or moths of the common cut- 
worms vary greatly in color in the different species. 
Normally the female lays her eggs in grass lands, but 
clover fields and weedy places get their share. The 
young worms hatching from these eggs early in the 
summer or late fall, feed voraciously upon any vegeta- 
tion in their vicinity and are by no means particular 
what it is ; the only requirement being that the plant 
shall be juicy and abundant. 

It is known that cutworms as well as the adult 
moths have a liking for sweet substances, and are 
attracted to them when they are placed in their vicinity. 
The worms also eat wheat bran with much relish. By 
combining bran with molasses, or syrup made from 
sugar, we have an ideal bait, and the worms will eat it 



260 THE BOOK OF CORN 

in preference to anything else when available. By 
poisoning this material with paris green or arsenic, 
we have a good remedy, cheap and easy to apply. 

The ingredients used for making the poison mash 
are as follows : Wheat bran, fifty pounds ; molasses 
(any kind), two quarts; paris green (good quality), 
one pound; and water (enough to make thick mash). 
The bran should be placed in an old tub or barrel, and 
to this the poison should be added and stirred thor- 
oughly before the water or molasses is poured in. Stir 
the molasses in about a gallon of warm water and pour 
it over the bran, to which the poison has been previ- 
ously added, thoroughly stirring until it is well mixed. 
Then add enough water to make a mash about the con- 
sistency of dough, so that it can be handled easily with- 
out running. Drop a small quantity near each hill. 
Not over a heaping teaspoonful in a place. Apply 
in the afternoon toward evening. Where it is necessary 
to get over large areas, there is no objection to distrib- 
uting it in any time during the day Care should be 
taken to keep chickens, turkeys, or animals of any 
kind that would be liable to eat the mash, out of the 
field for a day or two. A light cultivation a few dayi 
later will cover up any remnant that may be left. 

The Army Worm — The popular name is given to 
this creature from the fact that the worms congregate 
and travel in large numbers, invading a field of corn 
or other crop like an army. The sudden appearance 
and disappearance of this pest is very curious. The 
adult moth appears in the fields early in the spring. 
Two or three days are required for the moth to com- 
plete the eg^ laying process, after which it dies. Eight 
or ten days elapse before the eggs hatch. The young 
worms begin to feed at once. When not excessively 
abundant they hide during the dav and are rarely seen. 
In years of great abundance thev are generally utmo- 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 



261 



ticed during- the early life. The earliest acquire full 

g-rowth and commence to travel in armies and 
devastate fields of corn and other 
crops. They soon afterward descend 
into the ground, where they trans- 
form and issue again as moths two or 
three weeks later. 

The advance of these creatures can 
be arrested by ditching. To protect 
a field, however, from the marching 
horde, a deep furrow should be 
plowed along the side toward which 
they are moving, care being- taken 
that the land-side is next the threat- 
ened crop. The worms being unable 
to climb this, accumulate in the fur- 
row, where they can be trapped m 
post holes dug every ten or fifteen feet, 
and killed with kerosene, crude pe- 
troleum, or by crushing. Planks or 
boards of any kind placed on edge 
end to end and smeared with coal tar 
will prove an effectual barrier to them. 
Paris green, london purple, or better, 
arsenate of lead, sprinkled on the 
plants in front of a marching host, 
can be used to good advantage. The 
most important agents which keep 
these pests in check are insect para- 
sities. which attack the worms in great 
numbers when they appear in march- 
ing armies. These parasites develop 
so rapidly it is not an uncommon 

thing at times to find two-thirds of the worms 

parasitized. 



Fig 68— The Army 
Worm 

Full grown larva ; 
natural size (after 
Comstock) . 



262 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



The Larger Cornstalk Borer — In general appear- 
ance it is a white six-footed caterpillar, ordinarily with 
dark-brown spots, boring into the stalks of young corn, 
causing more or less distortion of the plants, and 
seriously reducing the yield. The larva bores into old 
stalks, later working down into the tap root and 
passing the winter in a channel near the surface of 
the ground or a little below, transforming in the spring 
to a brown moth. This insect is thought to be identical 
with the sugar-cane borer of Louisiana and the West 




Fig 69— The Army Worm 

^.oth above, pupa beljw, and egiis in natural position in a grass leaf— all natu- 
ral size (after Conistock) 

Indies. It occurs all through the southern states, west 
to Kansas, and as far north as Maryland along the 
north shore of the Potomac river. The adult insect 
issues from the old cornstalks in the spring. Soon 
after the young com comes up it lays its eggs upon 
the leaves near the axils, and the larva upon hatching 
penetrates the stalk at or near the joint and commence-? 
to tunnel, usually upward through the pith. When 
ready to transform it bores to the surface of the stalk, 
making a hole for the exit of the future moth, then 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 



263 



cnanging to the pupa state. The damage done by the 
second generation consists largely in weakening the 
stalk so that it is readily blown down. Injury by the 
first generation results in serious harm to the crop, 
preventing the growth of the ears. Upon reaching 
maturity, the larvae of the second generation do not 
transform at once, but the majority of them pass the 
winter as larvae. Early planted com is more apt to 
be infested than late corn. For instance, corn planted 




Fig 70— The Larger Cornstalk Borer ] 

a, female; b, larva; c, pupa — all somewhat enlarged 

the first and second weeks in April, twenty-five per 
cent was damaged ; the third and fourth weeks, twenty 
per cent ; May i to 15, fifteen per cent ; of that planted 
May 15 to 31, twelve per cent; June i, eight per cent. 
In fact, corn planted after ]\.\ne i was practically 
uninfested. See Fig 88, showing work of the larger 
cornstalk borer. 

With the more careful and thorough methods of 
cultivation in the North this insect in all probabilitv 
will not thrive. Dr L. O. Howard, entomologist of 



264 THE BOOK OF CORN 

the United States department of agriculture, thinks 
it will reach its maximum in localities like parts of 
South Carolina, where corn is simply stripped for 
fodder in early August, aud the bare stalks with the 
ear attached stand until after the cotton is picked, 
ginned and shipped, and where even after the ears are 
harvested the stalks arc seldom burned. In Virginia, 
however, the conditions are nearly as favorable for the 
continuous development of the insect. Where it is 
not intended to follow corn with winter grain, the 
corn is cut in October and the butts stand in the 
ground until the following spring, affording the larvae 
safe places for hibernation. Even in plowing for 
another crop of corn in the spring many of the old 
stalks are not destroyed, but still remain standing 
through winter. Under these conditions there is no 
check whatsoever to the increase of the pest. Wher.^ 
winter grain follows corn, the stalks arc not thoroughlv 
dragged off. Even when collected they are rarely ever 
burned. Where the old stalks are systematically 
removed from the field and burned after the harvest 
or during winter, or where a constant rotation of crops 
is practiced, the cornstalk borer will never become a 
serious pest. Southern farmers have it in their hands 
to check it at any time by pursuing these methods. 
Aside from corn, sugar cane and sorghum, this borer 
has only one other food plant, so far as is known. 
This is the gama grass, or sesame grass, Tripsacnm 
dactyloides, which grows very hlHi in swampy ground. 
Earmers whose corn fields adioin swampv ground 
should burn over the grass durin<7 the winter. The 
rotation of crops is reasonably efificient against this 
insect. 

The smaller cornsfalh hover is a tropical species 
occurring in Alabama, (Tcorgia, North and Sniith Car- 
olina, Florida, Kansas, Texas and as far north as 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 



265 



Virginia. It also inhabits Central and South rT.merica. 
The moth has been captured in Maryland and Indiana, 
but this is not evidence of the permanency of the species 
in those states. As this stalk borer hibernates in all 
stages, larva, pupa and adult, a practical remedy is 
difficult to find. The pulling up and burning of 
infested material as early as possible after the croo 
is removed, and rotation with some crop that would 
not be affected by this species, are desirable. It is 
quite a serious pest on beans and peanuts occasionally, 




Fig 71— The Smaller Cornstalk Borer 

ElasmofialpHs ligiwselhis . a, nale moth; b, fore-wing of dark female; bb, 
antenna of female; c, male at rest ; </, larva; e, ventral segment of larva from 
side, much enlarged; y, cocoon— all except c three times natural size (after 
Chittenden). 

and these should be avoided on land infested with it. 
It does not seem possible that the insect could be 
reached with insecticides with profit. See Fig 92, 
showing work of the smaller cornstalk borer. 

The Corn Worm — The corn worm has about as 
many popular names as it has food plants. Through- 
out the corn growing states it is known as the corn 
worm when it occurs upon corn. In the cotton grow- 
ing states it is called the boll worm when found upon 
cotton. In manv southern states it is known in the 



266 THE BOOK OF CORN 

early part of the season as the corn bud worm. The 
same worm is found also upon tomatoes, and is called 
the tomato worm. It is about an inch and a half 
long when full grown, and varies in color from pala 
green to dark brown, with longitudinal stripes of the 
same color. This difference in color is so great as to 
make them look like different insects ; still the mark 
ings are the same ; the green worms marked with 
stripes of darker green, and the brown ones with 
darker brown. When full grown they leave the ears 
and crawl into the ground, when they change to 
chrysalids. See Fig 84. 

There are as many as five broods during a single 
season in Alabama. There are three normal broods 
a year as far north as New Jersey, Ohio and northern 
Illinois, then in South Carolina, north Georgia, Ten- 
nessee and Arkansas there are probably four broods, 
and as many as six in south Texas and Florida. Early 
in the spring, pale, clay yellow moths, with a greenish 
tinge, emerge. They are very seldom seen, unless 
disturbed during the day, when they fly out with a 
quick, darting motion. 

The eggs of the first brood are laid upon the leaves 
of the corn, upon which the young begin to feed as 
soon as hatched, gnawing many small, irregular holes 
through them, giving them a ragged appearance. The 
brood that works on the ears is produced from eggs 
laid on the silk ; and when hatched they feed upon 
the silk ; when they come to the kernels, they work 
their way around the ears inside the husks, sometimes 
eating only the outside portion of the kernels, or boring 
through the under side next to the cob, so that when 
the husks are stripped back the worm may be nearly 
half hidden in the corn. As the corn gets hard, those 
that are full grown leave the ears and go into the 
ground to undergo their transformations, while others 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 267 

that have not reached that stage die and rot in their 
burrows, where they mold and decay, making the 
corn unfit for use. 

In garden patches of sweet corn, hand picking is 
the best remedy so far suggested. The planting of 
several rows of early sweet corn around the field liable 
to be infested has been advised. In such cases the 
moths are attracted to these rows of early corn and 
deposit their eggs, after which the worms can be 
hand picked, or destroyed by the destruction of the 
corn. Fall plowing will also break up and expose 
many chrysalids. 



Fig 72— Corn Root Broken Across to Show Northern Com Root Worm 

Within 

(After Forbes) 

The Chinch Bug — As soon as wheat is cut the 
chinch bug usually makes its way on foot, for it rarely 
uses its wings, to the nearest corn field. It is not 
an uncommon occurrence in the central western states 
to see the ground literally covered with these bugs 
in their various stages of development, passing from 
one field to another. If the ground is reasonably dry 
several furrows should be plowed around the field 
of corn. After harrowing and pulverizing as much 
as possible, open a furrow six to eight inches deep 
with a single shovel plow. In this drag a smooth log 
eight to ten inches in diameter until the furrow is 



268 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



finely dusted on both sides. If necessary make several 
parallel furrows in the same manner. The bugs tumble 
in them and are unable to crawl out on account of 
the dust crumbling under their feet. If the sun is 
hot the bulk of the pests are destroyed ; but in cool 
weather it may be necessary to drag the log back 
and forth several times during the day to destroy 
them. 



A 



A /. 



i$k 





Fig 73 — A'arious Stages of the Chinch Bug 

(After Johnson) 

When the ground is too wet to make furrows, 
gas or coal tar can be used. It should be poured in 
a continuous stream on the ground, forming a band 
about half an inch or more in width. The bugs will 
crawl up to this line, but will not cross it. They will 
run in either direction along the line, and can be 
trapped by digging post holes every few rods. Care 
must be taken to see that no rubbish, not even a straw 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 269 

or blade of grass, forms a bridge over the line. In 
case the bugs do get upon the young corn they can 
be destroyed by spraying with a ten to twelve per cent 
solution of kerosene emulsion. It should be applied 
with a good spray pump. About one-quarter to half 
a pint of emulsion will be sufficient for each hill. In 
1895 the writer made a practical demonstration of 
these methods on the farm of William Ouade near 
Edge wood, Illinois. A forty-acre field of corn sur- 
rounded on three sides with wheat and oats was saved. 
In one day it was estimated that the furrows contained 
about twelve bushels of dead chinch bugs. 

The Corn Root Aphis — Usually associated with 
ants in hills of corn, farmers will often find minute, 
soft, thick-bodied, six-legged insects, mostly without 
wings. They are always sluggish. When exposed 
they may show little or no signs of disturbance, but 
if shaken off the roots into which their lance-like beaks 
are inserted, they will probably crawl slowly and clum- 
sily about. Ants which have nested in the hill will 
seize these little insects in their jaws and hurry away 
with them into concealment. No insect affecting corn 
is more deserving of the attention of farmers than the 
corn root aphis or louse. It ranks as a corn pest with 
the chinch bug and army worm. See Figs 74 and 85. 

The corn root louse takes its food through a stiff 
beak, which it thrusts into the tissues of the plant 
it feeds upon. It thus produces no external injury, 
nor any local internal effect discoverable by ordinary 
methods of observation. Indications of injury by this 
insect are consequently all of a general character, 
affecting the entire plant, and do not materially differ 
from those caused by severe drouth, except in the fact 
that they are likely to be unequal in different parts 
of the same field in a way to indicate no connection 
with the amount of retained moisture in the soil. The 



270 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



root louse has been found on the plant as early as 
May 9, only four days after the held was planted. 

The dwarfing- of the plant, especicdly in patches 
here and there, with a yellowing or reddening of the 
leaves, beginning with the lowest ones, and a general 
apparent lack of thrift and vigor, are sufficient to cause 
suspicion of injury by this louse. This will be con- 
firmed in part if numerous burrows of ants are seen 
in or near the hills. The presence of ants in the field 




Fig 74— Winged Viviparous Female of Com Root Aphis 

(ircatly enlarged (after Korbcs) 

mav be overlooked after the ground has been recently 
cultivated, but can scarcely escape attention shortly 
after rain, when these little insects actively open up 
their burrows, heaping up the little pellets of earth 
about the openings of their nests. The root aphis of 
the corn is of a bluish-green color, slightly whitened 
by a w^axv bloom. The form of the body is usually 
oval, with two short, slender, but conspicuous tubes on 
the hinder part. These stand erect or project slightly 
backward, and have open ends externally. They are 
called "honev tubes," it having been formerly supposed 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 2/1 

that they were the source of the abunda,nt excretion 
upon which the ant attendants of the hce eagerly feed. 
The grass louse, on the other hand, is white in color, 
with a blackish head and other blackish markings, but 
without any tint of green ; it has no traces of honey 
tubes, their place being taken by two minute openings 
in the corresponding segment of the body, each sur- 
rounded by a delicate brownish rim. 

From our present knowledge of these pests, there 
seem to be at least four methods to attack them. Pro- 
fessor Forbes, in summing up the results of work done 
in Illinois, thinks farmers may ( i ) try the effect of a 
change of crop after any notable plant louse injury to 
corn, in the expectation that corn planted on ground 
which contains no plant louse eggs will become so 
slightly or so slowly infested, if at all, that no harm 
need be anticipated. (2) The application of fertilizers 
and other materials made to the young corn hill in 
spring in the hope of killing the lice outright or 
of supporting the plant against their attack at a time 
when this is likely to be most injurious. (3) Since 
the small brown ant cares for the eggs in winter 
and spring, it is thought the lice can be lessened by 
disturbing the nests or breaking them up and dis- 
persing their contents in late fall or winter, so 
that their stores of aphis eggs cannot be recovered 
by them, and thus left to perish. , (4) Taking 
account of the early hatching of the eggs in spring, 
several davs, as a rule, before the usual time for 
planting corn, and the dependence of the young 
lice for food at that time on sprouting weeds in the 
field, especially smartweed and pigeon grass, the 
ground should be handled in such a manner that there 
shall be no sufficient start of vegetation to keep the 
lice alive. Delay somewhat, if necessary, the planting 
of the field to corn. There can be no doubt that a 



27-2 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



judicious rotation of crops has the effect at least to 
diminish injury by the corn plant louse by distributing 
its attack. Many observations show that wheat and 
oats and the smaller grass-like plants in general are 
commonly soon deserted by such corn root lice as 
commence to breed on them. 

IN THE BIN AND GRANARY 

The grain moth is perhaps the most destructive 
enemy to stored corn south of the wheat growing belt. 
Its ravages are most marked in Texas. It attacks all 




Fig 75— The Grain Moth 

a, larva; /i, pupa; <-, adult moth; </. wings showing marking; e, egg — much 
enlarged ;y, grain of corn, showinj; larva at work (after Riley) 

stored cereal products, but corn and wheat are the 
principal grains affected. Its presence in com can 
be easily detected. The corn is light and is peppered 
full of little round holes about half the size of a 
pin's head. 

The parent insect is a small gray moth, resem- 
bling a clothes moth, and measures only about half 
an inch with its wings spread. The moth lays its 
eggs only upon hard grain. They are deposited in 
the field, granary, warehouse, mill or elevator. The 
eggs hatch in about a week and the young worms 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 273 

work their way into the i^rain. They feed for about 
three weeks. The creature passes the winter only in 
sj;-ranaries, warehouses, mills or elevators. It will breed 
uninterruptedly, generation after generation, in stored 
corn or wheat. After harvest the moth flies out from 
the granaries to the corn and wheat fields and lays 
its eggs upon grains of corn and wheat in the shock. 
The larvae are not destroyed by the husking or thresh- 
ing, and are carried back to the granaries and finally 
to the warehouse. When once established in such 
places, it will remain there an indefinite length of time. 
The most efficient remedy now known for its arrest 
and destruction is bisulphid of carbon. It can oe 
thrown directly upon grain without injuring its vital- 
ity or edible qualities in the least. See Fig 90, showing 
ear of corn riddled by the grain moth. 

The Grain Weevils — The granary weevil is a 
small, flattened-snout beetle, less than a quarter of an 
inch long, of a uniform shining, chestnut-brown color. 
The larva is legless, short and fleshy, whitish in color. 
In making preparations for the deposition of her eggs 
the female first punctures the corn with her snout, and 
then inserts an egg in the incision. The eggs hatch in 
a short time and the larva devours the interior of the 
grain and finally undergoes its transformation within 
the hull. In wheat and other small grains a single 
larva inhabits a kernel, but in corn several individuals 
may inhabit the same kernel. About six weeks are 
usually required for the transformation from egg to 
adult. There are probably four or five broods in the 
northern states, and six or more in the southern. The 
adult beetles do a great deal of damage by gnawing 
into the kernels. 

The rice weevil, another common species, was first 
found in rice and was given this popular name by its 
discoverer. It occurs in every state and territory and 



2/4 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



occasionally invades Canada and Alaska. It is most 
troublesome in the southern states, where it is com- 
monly, but erroneously called the "black weevil." 
Large cargoes of grain have frequently been destroyed 
during transportation by this insect. The annual 
losses by it are vcrv great in India, Mexico, South 
America and other tropical countries. It resembles 




Fig 76— Grain Weevils 

Calaiidra graitaria : «, beetle; /', larv;i; ,-, pupa; d, C. oryza beetle— all en- 
larged (after Chittenden) 

the granary weevil in size and in general appearance, 
but has well developed wings. It is a dull brown and 
its wing covers are ornamented with four more or less 
distinct red si)Ots. The larva and pupa are similar to 
those of the granary weevil. Although the rice weevil 
feeds upon rice, it attacks a great variety of other 
cereals, particularly corn and wheat. 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 275 

There is but one standard remedy for all stored 
grain insect pests, and that is scrupulous cleanliness 
supplemented by the free use of bisulphid of carbon. 
The bisulphid is usually evaporated in vessels con- 
taining one-fourth or one-half a pound each, and 
is applied in tight bins at the rate of a pound 
to a pound and a half to the ton of grain, and 
in more open bins a larger quantity is used. For 
smaller masses of grain or other material an ounce 
is evaporated to every one hundred pounds of the in- 
fested matter. Bins may be rendered nearly air-tight 
by covering with cloth, blankets or canvas. Infested 
grain is generally subjected to the bisulphid treatment 
for twenty-four hours, but may be exposed much 
longer without harming it for milling purposes. If 
not exposed for more than thirty-six hours its ger- 
minating power will not be impaired. In open cribs 
and badly infested buildings it may sometimes be 
necessary to use a double quantity and repeat treatment 
at intervals of about six weeks during the warmest 
weather. 

For a complete and detailed account of this sub- 
stance, together with directions for its application in 
stored corn, the reader is referred to the book "Fumi- 
gation Methods," published by Orange Judd Company, 
New York. 

MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS 

TJic Indian meal moth has a wide distribution and 
does not confine its attacks to grains and farinaceous 
products, but feeds on seeds and various kinds of nuts, 
dried fruits, roots and herbs. It is an all-round nui- 
sance in granaries, stores, and in houses. The moths 
are quite active and are easily disturbed. They may 
be seen flying about a granary, warehouse or pantry 
in the davtime, but thev are usuallv more active at 



276 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



night. The . female deposits her eggs upon the grain 
or in the meal itself, where they hatch in a few days 
into tiny worms. When full grown the worms or 
larvae are about half an inch long, flesh colored and 
hairy. They have the peculiar habit of spinning fine 
silken threads wherever they go, in much the same 
manner as the flour moth. When full grown the 
larvae usually leave their food and crawl to somj 
isolated angle or corner to pupate. They are exceed- 
ingly free with their silk during the migratory period, 
and w^ill often line the inside of tightly closed bins or 




Fig 77— Indian Meal Moth 

P/otita iiiterputictella ■ a, moth, /., chrysalis , <. caterpillar, /, same, dorsal 
view— somewhat enlarged; c/, head; <?, first abdominal segment ol caterpillar 
— more enlarged (after Chittenden). 



granaries with their waste material, trailing it back and 
forth in every conceivable direction, forming a fine and 
delicate fabric. There are in all probability from five 
to seven generafions annually where the temperature is 
favorable. 

Tlic meal snout moth is another little moth which 
is attracting considerable attention in this country. It 
usuallv occurs in mills, granaries, storehouses, barns 
and houses where farinaceous products are stored. The 
adult moth is a beautifullv banded creature with a 
wing expanse of about an inch. The ground color is 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 



277 



light brown, with reddish reflections. The larva is 
about three-quarters of an inch long, and is consider- 
ably darker than that of the preceding species. Its 
habits gre similar to those of the Indian meal moth. 
The larva constructs tubes of silk and particles of 
feed or other food in which it lives. It lives on cereals 
of all kinds and in all conditions, either in the kernel 
or in the form of flour, meal or bran. 




Pig 78— Common Grain and Flour Beetle 

Tribolmm confusum: a, beetle; b, larva; c, pupa— all enlarged; d, lateral 
lobe of abdomen of pupa; e, head of ibeetle, showing antenna;/, same of T 
ferrugmeum — all greatly enlarged (after Chittenden) 



The Mediterranean Hour moth is the most impor- 
tant of all mill insects. It is the scourge of the flour 
mill and has attracted much attention in recent years. 
It was discovered in a flour mill in Germany in 1877. 
In later years it invaded Belgium and Holland, and 
in 1886 appeared in England. Three years later it 
made its appearance in destructive numbers in Canada. 
In 1892 it was discovered by the writer in mills in Cal- 
ifornia and in New York. Pennsylvania in 1895, ^"^ 
recentlv in Ohio. Indiana and other states. The adult 



2/0 THE BOOK OF CORN 

moth has a wing- expanse of a Httle less than an inch , 
the fore wings are pale leaden gray with transverse 
black markings. The caterpillar is whitish and hairy. 
It is their habit of web spinning that renders them sj 
injurious where they obtain a foothold. It is while 
searching for a proper place for transformation that 
the insect becomes troublesome. The infested flour 
becomes felted together and lumpy, the machinery is 
clogged, necessitating frequent and prolonged stop- 
page, and resulting in a short time in the loss of 
thousands of dollars in large establishments. Although 
the larva prefers flour or meal, it will attack grain 
when the former are not available, and it flourishes 
also on bran, prepared cereal foods, including buck- 
wheat grits and crackers. When a mill is found to be 
infested, the entire building should be fumigated, and 
in case a whole district becomes overrun, the greatest 
care must be observed not to spread the pest. Unin- 
fested mills should be tightly closed at night, and every 
bushel of grain, every bag or sack brought into the 
mill, subjected to a quarantine process by being disin- 
fected either by hydrocyanic acid gas or bisulphid 
of carbon. 

THE CORN SMUT 

Corn smut is very common throughout the United 
States and familiar to every cultivator. In ordinary 
years the yield is decreased by it on the average from a 
fraction of one per cent to about two per cent, while 
in exceptional seasons and in particular localities the 
loss may reach ten per cent, or in rare cases even fifty 
or sixty per cent. Compared with some fungous dis- 
eases of cultivated crops, this is a low percentage of 
injury; and yet for the whole country it represents 
many millions of dollars annually. Even for single 
farms, where corn is a staple product, it is an amount 
worth saving. 



28o THE BOOK OF CORN 

Corn smut is caused by a fungus known to bota- 
nists by the name of Ustilago zeae. It is a fungus of 
simple structure and habits, entirely distinct from the 
smuts of sorghum, broom corn, wheat, oatS; barley, 
millet and those of many other wild and cultivated 
l^lants. It affects any part of the plant above ground, 
forming large pustules, at first of a whitish or grayish 
color, and finally black by exposure of the mass of dark 
fungous spores. On the left every kernel (see Fig 79) 
is destroyed, and the growth of the outer part of the 
ear has been checked by the disease. On the right 
only the outer half of the ear is affected, the remainder 
having perfect kernels, unaffected with smut, and 
which might be planted without danger of transmitting 
smut to the next crop. From photographs loaned by 
the Indiana experiment station. 

When the corn plant becomes inoculated with the 
disease, the infection does not spread to all parts of 
the plant, but remains local, so that each pustule repre- 
sents a separate infection. The fungus does not grow 
upon the surface, but inside the tissues, and by the 
irritation that it sets up causes the tissues to swell and 
form a pustule, the size depending upon the amount 
of nutriment that the fungus can extract from the 
plant, and the rapidity with which that part of the 
plant is growing at the time. For these reasons the 
ears usually bear the largest masses of smut. 

For one hundred and fifty years or more it has been 
the practice of farn:ers in Furope to treat seed wheat 
with blue vitriol to remove smut from it, and in late 
years a variety of practical and efficient methods for 
the treatment of seed grain have come into general 
use in both Europe and America. Until recently it 
has been assumed that corn smut might be prevented 
by similar means, and it was not until the life history 
of the corn smut fungus was fully worked out by 



282 THE BOOK OF CORN 

botanists, led by such eminent investigators as Meyen, 
Leveille, Tulasne brothers, De Bary, Kuehn, Fischer 
von Waidheim and P>refeld, that the futiUty of such 
methods for corn became apparent. Brefeld's publica- 
tion in 1895 completed our knowledge of the essential 
features in the life history of the fungus, and for the 
first time made a rational procedure possible. 

The habits of the fungus are readily described. 
The spores, composing the black powder, are capable 
of growth as soon as ripe but for the most part do not 
grow until June, or later, of the year following. They 
grow best in a nutrient solution, such as the drainings 
from rich soil, or barnyard manure, and consequently 
it is the smut masses that fall to the ground m the field 
and are not wholly plowed under, or are distributed 
in yards where cattle are fed dry stalks, that chiefly 
furnish material for the spread of the disease. 

When the spores germinate they produce a white, 
mold-like growth of limited extent, on which are borne 
minute, colorless, secondary spores. If the fungous 
filaments are submerged, the secondary spores are 
formed sparingly, but when they develop in moist air 
these spores are produced in the greatest profusion. 
It is the aerial, secondary spores that are the direct 
source of infection. They are carried about by air 
currents, and falling upon the moist surface of any 
part of the corn plant, not too mature, grow into the 
plant and cause smut pustules. Under favorable con- 
ditions it requires only twenty-four hours to produce 
secondary spores after the black spores find a suitable 
place in which to grow ; and after the secondary spores 
strike the corn plant in growing condition but ten to 
fourteen days are needed for a mass of smut to form, 
which in a week longer will contain ripe spores. It 
will be seen that the reproduction of the fungus is very 
rapid, three weeks being ample under favorable condi- 



284 THE BOOK OF CORN 

tions for completing the whole cycle of growth, no 
resting period being essential. 

Observations carefully tabulated have shown that 
the pustules become more numerous in a field of corn 
as the season progresses, unquestionably due to suc- 
cessive infections. Early planted corn is liable to show 
more smut at the end of the season than late planted, 
simply because it has had a longer period in which to 
become infected. Corn planted upon extra rich or 
extra moist soil is more liable to infection, because the 
rapid growth exposes more surface of tender tissues 
and for a longer time. It must be remembered that the 
secondary spores are only able to push their germinal 
tubes into soft tissues. They sometimes effect an en- 
trance into the tips of the brace roots before these enter 
the ground. They attack any part of the leaf when 
immature, and also the tassel, especially when the stam- 
inate flowers first appear. The lower part of each 
internode of the stem, just above the joint and inside 
the sheath, is particularly vulnerable throughout almost 
the whole season, for corn, in common with other mem- 
bers of the grass family, continues to grow and elon- 
gate at this point for an indefinite period. On the left 
(see Fig 80, showing smut affecting the tassels) the 
smut spores were washed in among the unfolding 
leaves at the summit of the stem before the tassel 
emerged, and the base of the leaves as well as the 
tassel became diseased, so that growth of the tassel 
was checked. On the right the infection took place 
after the tassel unfolded, and gained entrance through 
the open staminate flowers. 

Not only are the tissues delicate here, but the 
sheaths retain moisture and provide the spores, that 
drop in from above or are washed down bv rains or 
dews, good opportunity to germinate and pierce the 
plant. Smut often starts where the stalks are injured 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 285 

by the cultivator or otherwise, thus exposing soft and 
moist tissues. The ear, about which the farmer is 
chiefly concerned, is infected through the silk, conse- 
quently, although the ear is particularly susceptible, it 
is only for a brief period while the silks are young and 
moist that it can be successfully attacked. In Fig 8i 
another phase is shown. On the left each joint along 
the lower part of the stalk bears a mass of smut, which 
started by spores being washed down inside the sheath, 
and which, as it grew, ruptured the sheath and became 
exposed. On the right the uppermost joint of the 
stalk is similarly affected, but instead of the smut mass 
breaking through the sheath, it has pushed the stem 
bearing the tassel to one side, and the sheath remains 
upright. Figs 80 and 8i are from photographs loaned 
by the Indiana experiment station. 

SMUT DETRIMENTAL IN VARIOUS WAYS 

The smut injures the com crop m two ways. 
First, by destroying the ears of corn, causing practi- 
cally a total loss, and secondly, by absorbing the juices 
of the plant and thus preventing full growth, especially 
of the ears. Statistics show that plants affected by 
smut, the ear remaining sound, give a yield on an av- 
erage of only three-fourths the full number of bushels. 
The loss in yield of stover is not usually material. 

Besides the actual loss to the crop there is a wide- 
spread belief that the smut does great injury when 
eaten by animals. This belief is not new ; it is handed 
down from the earliest days in the history of corn 
growing. From the eighteenth century to the present 
time it has been considered dangerous for animals of 
any kind, or for man. to eat com smut. It is reported 
to produce weakness, paralysis of the limbs, gangrene, 
loss of hair, staggers, abortion, and very frequently 
death, which is usuallv sudden. 



286 THE BOOK OF CORN 

Effects of Smut on Aniuial Life — On the other 
hand experimental evidence goes to show that danger 
from eating corn smut is very shght, if indeed, there 
is any at all, and that the harm which has been ascribed 
to it is more reasonably referred to other causes. In 
1784, the distinguished French investigator, Imhof, ex- 
perimented upon himself by taking a considerable 
quantity of the spores before breakfast every morning 
for a fortnight, also applying the spores to a wound on 
his hand, and employing them as snuff, without ex- 
periencing the slightest harm or ill effects. Other 
early investigators and many recent ones have tried 
experiments both on man and animals, and with one 
or two possible exceptions no injury resulted. In these 
trials cows, which are thought to be the chief sufferers, 
have been fed smut for weeks, often as much as ten 
pounds, or a half bushel, daily during the latter part 
of the time, without symptoms of injury in any partic- 
ular, and with every appearance of its being an accept- 
able and nutritious food. Some of the cows were 
pregnant. 

Chemical tests, and physiological studies with 
fluid extract of smut, however, appear to show that it 
contains small quantities of a narcotic substance, which 
taken in concentrated form may act upon the nerve 
centers and affect certain reflex movements, especially 
those of respiration. It appears possible to cause death 
with it, but unless that happens the effects of even 
large doses soon disappear and no harm follows. That 
it is ever possible for an animal to cat enough of the 
smut as found in the field to produce death seems 
highly improbable, unless in the possible rare case of a 
very susceptible individual. 

A N^itritk'c Food — Feeding experiments have 
demonstrated that cattle relish the smut, and that it 
serves as a nutritious food. Moreover, chemical analv- 



CORN PESTS AND DISEASES 287 

sis shows that it is richer in protein than corn, oats or 
clover hay, and is also high in carbohydrates. It con- 
tains about four per cent of sugar, which may help to 
make it palatable. It has been thought that the spores 
pass through the animal without impairing their power 
of germination, but this, like many other current views 
regarding corn smut, is found by trial not to be true. 
A concise statement regarding present knowledge 
of the action of corn snuit upon animals would be, that 
it is a highly nutritive food, quite harmless, except 
when eaten in excessive amounts, and then only rarely. 
The small quantity of a narcotic-like substance which 
it contains may under all ordinary circumstances be 
ignored. *^ 

CONTROLLING OR ERADICATING THE DISEASE 

In the spread of corn smut in the field, assuming 
that careless husbandry has permitted smut masses to 
remain undestroyed, thus providing an ample source of 
infection, the most important factor is that of the 
weather. A damp atmosphere, cloudy days, and gentle 
winds furnish ideal conditions for the rapid spread of 
the smut. Under such circumstances the delicate sec- 
ondary spores are wafted about without loss of vitality, 
and effect an entrance into the corn plant at any vul- 
nerable point with little danger of desiccation. 

Observation has shown that periods of dull, sultry 
weather were followed in about two weeks by out- 
breaks of smut. A rain storm, however, checks the 
spread of the smut, for it washes the spores from the 
air and the surface of the plants into the ground, where 
they come to naught. A rainy season, therefore, may 
be less favorable to the growth of smut than a dry 
season in which dewy nights are frequent. 

From a knowledge of the life history of the corn 
smut fungus only two courses seem open at present for 



288 THE BOOK OF CORN 

controlling: or stamping out the disease. One course 
is to protect the crop by some method of spraying so 
that floating- spores may be killed when they come in 
contact with the corn plant. That it is possible to 
greatly diminish the amount of smut liable to occur in 
a field by repeated spraying with some copper com- 
pound, like bordeaux mixture, has been amply proved 
by trial. But it is an expensive and cumbersome 
method, incapable of protecting the ears from smut, 
because it is not wise to spray the silks when in a re- 
ceptive condition, and consequently is a method never 
likely to come into general use. 

The other course is to remove the source of infec- 
tion by gathering the smut pustules before they break 
and scatter spores, and to thoroughly destroy them. 
If the smut masses are gathered from the fields of 
growing corn two or three times during the season, 
beginning in July, and the gatherings burned or 
plunged into boiling water, the injury from smut in 
the present crop and especially in subsequent ones must 
be greatly lessened or entirely removed. The wider 
the extent of country over which this method is pur- 
sued, the more permanent and complete will be the 
benefit. By employing boys, or other cheap labor, the 
method is made financially profitable. 



CHAPTER XV 

(EoHt nf (Srnhiing (Horn 

^■^HE selling- price of every product of human labor, 
ill the production of which is open to general com- 
^^ petition, is in the end determined by the average 
cost of producing that article. The truth of this 
rule is most clearly shown in the case of those articles 
of manufacture in the production of which the element 
of chance is most completely removed, and an exact 
knowledge of the cost of material and labor entering 
into their composition is possible. Where such absolute 
accuracy is possible, the producer simply sums up the 
cost to himself and fixes a selling price so as to allow as 
large a margin of profit as competition will permit. 
The application of this rule to the products of the farm 
appears difficult because of the difficulty of measuring 
the cost of producing any given product, but that it 
does apply is certain, and is illustrated by the declining 
course of prices of farm products that accompanies the 
increased use of labor saving farm machinery. 

It is not possible to measure cost of production 
of farm products with the same accuracy as is possible 
with manufactured articles, but every farmer should 
know approximately at least what his own products 
cost. If he does not he is no position to market them 
intelligently and is assuming risks which no other 
business in the world carries. It is remarkable how 
little data of positive value bearing upon the cost of 
producing corn are available. Most that has appeared 
is in the way of loose general estimates based upon 
small areas grown in an experimental way, though 
within the past few years some careful and systematic 



290 



Till': BOOK or CORN 



effort has been made to g^ather data upon a scale broad 
enough to serve as a basis for a reasonable estimate 
of cost of corn production. 



sS' 




AN UNRELIABLE OFFICIAL ESTIMATE 

Tn i8q4 the United States department of a.c^ricul- 
turc published the results of an investigation as to 



COST OF GROWING CORN 29I 

the cost of growing corn, based on "estimates" supplied 
by "over 28,000 practical farmers" in all parts of the 
country. The methods followed in securing the in- 
formation were crude in the extreme, and the statistical 
treatment of the data secured very unsatisfactory 
leaving the results of so little value as to hardly merit 
analysis. In presenting the conclusions readied it may 
be pointed out that mere personal estimates and not 
exact records are the basis of the work, and that the 
only items of cost considered are "renf of land, ma- 
nure, seed and labor." The official conclusion of this 
investigation, averaged for the whole country, was : 

Per acre 

Rent of land $303 

Manure 1.86 

Preparing ground ... 1.62 

Planting 42 

Cultivating 1.80 

Gathering 1.22 

Housing 50 

Marketing 1.26 

Total ,..$11.71 

Cost per bushel (22.5 bushels per acre) .52 

In view of the fact that this statement does not 
include taxation, depreciation of horses and machinery 
and other items of cost, and yet shows an average cost 
of $2.69 per acre greater than the average value per 
acre of the crop for the ten years preceding, as re- 
ported by the same authority, further consideration of 
this "official" estimate of the cost of growing corn is 
unnecessary. 

AN ILLINOIS INVESTIGATION 

In 1898 the Illinois experiment station published 
a report prepared by Wr Nathan A. Weston, giving 
the results of an investigation undertaken to ascer- 
tain the cost of growing corn in 1896. Unfortunately, 
the circular issued to secure the data was so drawn as 



292 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



to invite estimates rather than actual records, and was 
faulty to an extent that made necessary a supplemen- 
tary circular at a later date. The results, therefore, 
are open to the objection of being based upon esti- 
mates, or at best imperfect recollection of unimportant 
circumstances taking place nearly a year before the 
asking of any questions concerning them. 

The data gathered are so imperfectly presented 
that it is impossible to construct a table which shall 




Fig S3— The Seed Corn Maggot 

Fhorbiafiiuiceps : tz, male tly, dorsal view, />, temale, lateral view; c, head 
of female from above, t/, lai-va, from side; e, anal segment of lai"va;y, anal 
spiracles; ^, thoracic spiracles; /;,pupariuni— all much enlarged (after Chitten- 
den). 

show in detail the cost of the various items necessary to 
a showing of the cost of growing corn. The final con- 
clusion is that the "cost per bushel through husking" 
averaged 16.1 cents, qualified by the statement: "If we 
omit rent, the cost per bushel through husking would 
according to this inquiry be about eight cents." In 
view of the fact that this does not include any allow- 
ance for depreciation of horses or machinery, team 
maintenance during their period of idleness, fertiliza- 
tion, and other items of cost always present, even the 
final conclusion cannot be accepted as having any very 
positive value. 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



293 



A CAREFUL WISCONSIN INVESTIGATION 

In his report of 1898, Mr Halford Erickson, com- 
missioner of statistics for Wisconsin, presents a valu- 
able contribution of data upon the question of cost 
of producing staple crops. It is based upon exact 
records kept by a large number of representative farm- 





Fig 84— The Corn Worm 

Heliothis armiger : a, adult moth ; b, dark full-grown larva ; c, light-colored full- 
grown larva; d, pupa— natural size (after Howard) 

ers, the method followed in securing the data being 
exactly the same as that pursued in the American 
Agriculturist and Orange Judd Farmer investigation, 
which will be presented in detail later. This estimate 
includes as part of cost production interest on perma- 



294 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ncntly invested capital, the propriety of including- which 
is doubtful. The averages of the Wisconsin investiga- 
tion are as follows : 

Per acre 

Plowing $0,535 

Fertilizing 690 

Harrowing, etc 230 

Planting 143 

Seed 080 

Cultivation 677 

Cutting 930 

Husking 1-340 

Shelling 550 

Marketing 560 

Taxation 256 

Team maintenance 867 

Depreciation of machinery 429 

Depreciation of horses 125 

Other expenses 500 

Total $7-912 

Less value of fodder 3.000 

Total cost per acre $4,912 

Cost per bushel (42 bushels per acre). . .117 

Adding the allowance for interest on permanent 
investment the statement becomes : 

Per acre 

Annual investment (details above) ... .$4,912 

Interest on machinery investment 257 

Interest on value of horses 075 

Interest on annu?l investment 475 

Interest on value of land 2.640 

Total $8,359 

Per bushel 199 

INDIVIDUAL ESTIMATES OF COST 

There are many methodical fanners who realize 
the importance of knowing what it costs them to pro- 
duce their crops, and such men possess data which 
answer the question of cost of growing so far as 
their own well-managed farms are concerned. The 



COST OF GROWING CORN 295 

Hiram Sibley estate at Sibley, Illinois, a notable exam- 
ple of large and well-managed farming operations, has 
accurate records of cost of producing its crops. 
The manager, Mr F. A. Warner, has submitted the 
following showing of the cost of growing a crop of 
sixty acres of corn upon that estate : 

COST OF PRODUCING CORN ON SIBLEY ESTATE, SIBLEY, 
ILLINOIS 

Fall plowing, 45 acres at $1 per acre.. .$45.00 
Spring plowing. 15 acres at $1 per acre. 15.00 

Breaking stalks on 15 acres 3.00 

Disking on fall plowing, 45 acres 18.00 

Harrowing 10.50 

Seed corn, 9 bushels at 75 cents 6.75 

Planting 12.00 

Harrowing after planting 10.50 

Cultivating three times 78.00 

Thinning and weeding 10.00 

Husking, at 2 1-2 cents per bushel.... 62.25 
Shelling and hauling, at 2 1-2 cents per 

bushel 62.25 

Total cost $33325 

Taxes 20.00 

Insurance and repairs 10.00 

$363-25 
Cost per bushel (41.5 bushels per 

acre) 146 

This cost is figured on the basis of the actual ac- 
complishment per day's labor, labor being charged at 
the rate of $2.50 per day for man and team and 50 
cents per day for extra horses where used. This wage 
includes board and keep of man and teain. 

The crop was 2490 bushels, making the average 
yield per acre 41.5 bushels, and the cost per bushel 
14.6 cents. The land was valued at $80 per acre, or 
$4000 for the field, and if interest be allowed upon this 
investment at the rate of 6 per cent, it raises the cost 



296 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



of the crop to $651.25 and the cost per bushel to 
26.2 cents. 

Record on a Nebraska Farm — One of the most 
vakiable collections of data relative to cost of pro- 
duction in a given locality of which the writer has 
knowledge, is found in the annual records kept by Mr 
R. M. Allen, manager of the Standard Cattle Com- 
pany, for the farms of the home feeding station at 




Fig 85— Corn Root Aphis 

Male and oviparous female enlarged (after Forbes) 

Ames, Nebraska. These crops have been grown on 
different kinds of soil, from sandy to very heavy, 
sticky, black gumbo in the Platte river valley. The 
record as presented below covers a ten-year period, 
thus including both good and bad seasons. Farming on 
this place is carried on as an exact business and the 
figures presented are exact records as drawn from the 
hooks of the company. Under the head of operating 
expenses is included manuring of a portion of the 
acreage each year and the cost of producing, harvest- 
ing and cribbing the crop. From this gross cost is 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



297 



deducted the value of the stover, according to the 
character of the season, ranging from $1.46 per ton in 
1896, a season of very cheap hay, to $5 per ton in 1894, 
the year of great drouth and deficient hay crop. The 
figures do not include any allowance for either rent of 
land or interest ori the permanent investment. It is 
interesting to note the close relation between the aver- 
age cost per bushel for the ten years, and the average 
cost of 12.9 cents presented in the American Agricul- 
turist investigation which is reviewed at length later. 

COST OF GROWING CORN ON STANDARD CATTLE COMPANY 
FARM, AMES, NEBRASKA 



Year 


Acr's 


Bush- 
els 


Bn per 
acre 


Oper't'g 
expenses 


Val of 
stover 


Net cost 


Cost 
per a 


Cost 
per bu 


1891 


1,825 
1,825 
1,325 
1,792 
1,875 
2,462 
2,717 
3,431 
1,644 
2,735 


42,000 
51,344 
60,028 
41,001 
76,154 
169,031 
111,932 
108,090 
60,837 
124,995 


23.0 
28.0 
45.3 
22.8 
40.6 
68.6 
41.1 
31.5 
35.9 
35.0 


P, 134.20 
8,479.97 
8,966.30 
12,930.33 
17,217.48 
27,593.40 
22,346.00 
28,178.49 
15,275.80 
25,451.00 




$8,134.20 
8,479.97 
7,653.80 
5,765.33 

12,921.48 

18,272.70 
8,900.01 

17,278.49 
9,413.80 

15,451.00 


$4.46 
4.67 
5.78 
3.22 
6 89 
7.42 
3.28 
5.04 
5.73 
5.65 


$0,194 
.165 


1892 




1893 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


i,3i2.56 

7,165.00 

4,296,00 

9,320.70 

13.446 00 

10.900.00 

5.862.00 

10,000.00 


.127 
.141 
.170 
.108 
.079 
.160 
.155 
.124 


Tofl 
Avg 


21,631 


845,412 


39.1 






$112,270.78 


$5.19 


$0,133 



AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST AND ORANGE JUDD FARMER 
ESTIMATE OF COST 

In 1897 these journals published a series o£ arti- 
cles upon the cost of growing corn based upon data 
furnished by growers who had kept detailed records 
of all items of cost connected with their crop in 1896. 
Up to that time, no systematic and scientific efifort to 
determine on any large scale the cost of production of 
any staple farm crop had ever been made, and most 
erroneous estimates of this cost were currently ac- 
cepted. The method adopted to secure the necessary 



298 THE BOOK OF CORN 

data was simple and effective. A large number of 
corn growers were induced to keep an actual day to 
day record, upon a specially prepared blank, showing 
the exact amount of labor and other expense bestowed 
upon a certain definite area, and when the season was 
over these records were consolidated and the results 
averaged. 

This investigation covered but eight states, and it 
was determined to prosecute a second investigation 
which should include systematic results typical of the 
conditions under which corn is grown in all sections 
of the country. The original plan of securing actual 
day to day records was adhered to, the circulars being 
so arranged as to secure the exact record of all ex- 
penses attached to the growing of the crop from ferti- 
lization and preparation of the soil, through the whole 
season's work, in the order in which performed up to 
the cribbing of the crop. These circulars were in the 
hands of the growers before the first plow entered the 
ground and continued in their possession until the 
crop was gathered. 

In tabulating these individual records only those 
absolutely complete and perfect were used, these cov- 
ering 4051 acres, located in 156 covmties of 21 states. 
In this area was included corn grown under various 
methods practiced in different parts of the country, so 
that the averages presented do not represent the cost 
under any particular method, but an average of the 
various methods. 

IVJwt Is Cost — In analyzing the data secured by 
this investigation, the term "cost of production" is 
used in its popular significance, as representing the 
actual outlay or the amount of capital actually used up 
and which must be wholly replaced before any profit 
upon the fixed or permanently invested capital can be 
secured. In the tabidations to be presented this covers 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



299 



taxation, labor and labor maintenance, fertilizing ma- 
terial, seed, team maintenance and depreciation of ma- 
chinery and horses. Land, horses and machinery are 
treated as permanent capital and an allowance of inter- 
est on this permanent investment is not considered as 
part of the cost of production, but the net profit on 
the crop after all the circulating capital which has been 
used up has been replaced is taken as the profit of pro- 
duction and therefore is the interest returned on the 
permanent investment. 




Fig 86— Mediterranean Flour Moth 



Efhestia kuchnicUa: a, moth; i, same from side, resting; c, larva; </, pupa- 
enlarged; e, abdominal joint of larva — more enlarged (after Chittenden) 



Labor and IVagcs — The great bulk of the corn 
crop is produced by the labor of the owner of the crop. 
Some hiring is done in stress of work, but this usually 
supplements the labor of the owner. In figuring labor 
cost the rate of wages paid' where hiring is done by 
the day is used, the assumption being that the owner 
is entitled to charge his labor at the highest local mar- 
ket price. By common custom in every community, 
there is a wage rate for labor with board furnished 
and another where the laborer boards himself. The 
difference between the two rates represents the valine 
or cost of maintenance as determined by experience 
and custom. In this investigation cost of wages and 



30O THE BOOK OF CORN 

cost of labor maintenance are figured together by mak- 
ing the wage basis the rate of wages per day without 
board. Having the number of days' labor given to 
each operation pursued in the growing of the corn crop 
and the average rate of wages per day without board, 
the cost of labor and labor maintenance becomes a sim- 
ple matter. The average wages per day witliout board 
ranged from 60 cents in Virginia to $1.50 in Maine, 
averaging for the 21 states $1.10. 

Teams and Maintenance — The meaning of team is 
not the same in all districts or in all operations. It 
may be two, three, or more horses. To bring the vari- 
ous customs to a common basis the number of horses 
used in any operation is reduced to a common standard 
of teams of two horses. As an illustration, if four 
horses were used to plow in a given crop, it enters into 
the calculation as two teams. The horse power used 
in making the crop may be regarded from two stand- 
points. Wage allowance may be made for their serv- 
ices on the basis of the rate usually paid where horses 
are hired. The second way of considering horse power 
is regarding the necessary complement of horses on 
the farm as part of the permanently invested capital. 
Beyond question this is the proper method. On this 
basis annual cost of team maintenance and an allow- 
ance for depreciation is the proper charge against the 
crop. This charge may be made in two ways. The 
first is to ascertain the average cost per day of team 
maintenance, charging the corn crop with maintenance 
only for those days in wdiich the team is actually en- 
gaged in producing the crop. This plan would be fol- 
lowed upon the assumption that the horses 01 the farm 
are constantly engaged in some form of farm work, 
and that the cost of their keep and care each day 
should be charged to the work then engaged upon. 
The objection is that horses are not employed equally 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



301 



day by day and their maintenance in their days of idle- 
ness must be charged to some portion of the farm work. 
The other plan of charging for horse power, which 
is considered the most equitable, is to divide the annual 
cost of maintenance of all horses required in the ordi- 
nary work of the farm by the total acres of cviltivated 
land in the farm. The whole cultivated area shares in 
their work and should share in the cost of keeping 




Fig 87— Adult Moth and Cutworm 

a, moth; h, larva, side view; c, larva, top view (after Chittenden) 

them. In the same way, their annual depreciation 
should be shared by the farm as a whole. 

The data submitted, showing monthly feeding of 
hay, grain and other feed, made the average cost per 
month of maintaining a team of two horses $8.21, with 
a range from $12.91 in Massachusetts to $5.98 in 
Nebraska. 

Horse Potver and Machinery — The horse on the 
farm is what steam is to the manufacturer : power. 
Horses are therefore properly part of the permanently 



302 THK 1?()()K OF CORN 

invested capital of the farm. Treated in this way the 
charg-e for horse power in crop pro(hiction is the 
annual cost of their maintenance and the annual depre- 
ciation of their value. The farms included in the 
schedule of this investigation aggregated 26,522 acres, 
the number of horses required in conducting the farm- 
ing operations was 781, their total value being $39,525, 
an average of $50.60 per head. The value per farm 
acre of the horses necessary to farming- operations was 
$1.49. The inonthly cost of team maintenance, as 
shown above, was $8.21, making the annual cost of 
maintenance of the necessary complement of liorses for 
the farm work $38,472, or a cost per farm acre of $1.45. 

Taxation — The rate of taxation per acre of the 
corn land is ascertained by securing the total taxation 
on the land, buildings, stock and implements, the fixed 
capital, and apportioning the taxes ecjuitably between 
this total farm value and the value of the corn land 
alone. The average rate of taxation is 28.3 cents per 
acre, ranging from 3 cents per acre in Virginia to 79 
cents in Massachusetts. This seems a wide range, but 
when the value per acre of the land is considered the 
taxation is more equitable, being" .6 of i per cent of the 
value in Virginia and 1.3 per cent in Massachusetts. 

Rent, Interest and Implements — The average cash 
rental per acre of land similar to that reported upon 
was returned at $3.05, ranging from an average of $1 
in Virginia to $5.25 in Pennsylvania. The average 
value per acre of the corn land was returned at $47.71, 
and on this valuation the cash rental equals 6.4 per 
cent. The average rate of interest at which loans could 
be secured was reported at 7.1 per cent, ranging from 
5 per cent in New England to 10 per cent in Texas. 

The quality and effectiveness of farm implements 
varies greatly and the amount of fixed capital in- 
vested in such machinery varies equally. From the 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



303 



data submitted it appears that the average investment 
required to furnish implements for a 40-acre corn 
field was $83.59, or $2.09 per acre, ranging from 87 




Fig 88— Work of the Larger Cornstalk Borer 

a, general appearance of stalk infested by the early trcneration of borers ; i, same, 
cut open to show pupa and larva burrow (after Howard) 

cents per acre in Virginia to $2.62 in Iowa. The aver- 
age effective life of such implements was a fraction 
over 10 years, thus fixing the allowance for deprecia- 
tion of implements at 20.9 cents per acre. This allow- 



304 THE BOOK OF CORN 

ance includes repairs necessary during the life of the 
implements. 

Labor and Its Statistical Treatment — The amount 
and character of labor required to make a corn crop 
necessarily varies according- to the culture methods 
followed. In the 4051 acres included in this investiga- 
tion various culture methods were used. As an average 
must include all methods, the total amount of labor re- 
quired to perform a certain operation is distributed over 
the total area, although actually the labor was per- 
formed on only a part of the acreage. For example, it 
was necessary to remove stalks on only 1673 acres, but 
the labor cost of this operation is necessarily divided 
among the whole 4051 acres. So far as possible, how- 
ever, the labor cost of the different operations is 
grouped into certain fundamental divisions of culture 
according to the result aimed at by the operation in 
question. The term "labor cost" as used in this an- 
alysis includes wages and labor maintenance, but does 
not include cost of team maintenance, that being in- 
cluded later in the tabulation as a separate item. 

Removing Stalks — When corn is grown two years 
in succession, the first work of preparation is the re- 
moval of old stalks. Cutting up and carrying off was 
practiced on 784 acres, requiring 913/2 days of labor 
and 76 days of team service. The actual accomplish- 
ment was 8.6 acres per day of labor. Breaking, raking 
and burning was practiced on 889 acres, requiring 92 
days of labor and 79^ days of team service, the aver- 
age accomplishment being 2.4 acres per day's labor. 

Ploii'ing — Of the 4051 acres, 3491 acres were 
plowed, the remaining 560 acres being listed in. To 
plow 725 acres in the fall required 293 days of labor 
and 382 days of team service, or an accomplishment 
of 2.47 acres per day's labor. The discrepancy be- 
tween davs of labor and davs of team work is of course 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



305 



due to the fact that more than two horses were fre- 
quently used to the plow, and in all such cases team 
work is stated in the equivalent of two horses. The 
spring- plowing of 2766 acres required 1154^ days of 
labor and 1479 days of team service, an accomplish- 
ment of 2.4 acres per day's labor. 

Harrowing — The amount of work done in the 
way of harrowing-, disking^ rolling, dragging and 



**^»=.,-^ 



.^ 




Fig 89— Beetle of Northern Corn Root Worm 

Enlarged ten diameters (after Forbes) 



otherwise preparing the seedbed varies greatly in local 
practice. Instances appear in the schedule where the 
field was worked seven times, while in other cases only 
one working was given. Of the 4051 acres, harrowing 
or other similar preparation was practiced on 3280. 
As only 560 acres were listed, this leaves 211 acres 
on which planting followed plowing with no effort to 
prepare a seedbed. It required 496^ days of labor 



3o6 



TH1-: BOOK OF CORN 



»'; — ' 



and 668j4 days of team service to accomplish the har- 
rowing, or an avera£:^e of 6.6 acres per day's labor. 

Listing — This method of planting is little prac- 
ticed except in Kansas and 
Nebraska. Under the proper 
soil and climate conditions it is a 
desirable method, and so far as 
the amount of labor required is 
concerned it is far cheaper than 
the usual practice. In this in- 
vestigation 560 acres were listed, 
requiring 92 }4 days of labor and 
1 1934 days of team service, the 
accomplishment per day's labor 
being 6.1 acres. 

fertilization — The percentage 
of the total corn acreage which 
in any year is fertilized by the 
direct application of fertilizing 
material is so small as to hardly 
merit consideration. \\'here this 
is done at all it is usuallv thus 
treated once in a series of years, 
so that the full cost of such treat- 
ment cannot properly be charged 
to the single crop following. The 
usual method of maintaining fer- 
tility is by devoting the land 
occasionally to some renovating 
crop, like clover, and when this 
is done it is obvious that some 
allowance must be made for the 
less valuable product of the land 
in that year, but what that allowance should be cannot 
be determined wnth accuracv. 

In this investigation no allowance has been made 



l^^ik 



:f,^ 



Fig 90— Ear of Cirn Rid. 
died by the Orai.i Moth 

(After Rilcy) 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



307 



for fertility directly applied, and in such cases the full 
cost has been charged to the crop in question. This 
course undoubtedly makes the charge allowed for fer- 
tilization higher than it actually averages, but no other 
course seems open without the introduction of personal 
estimate into a calculation which is intended to be an 
actual record. In the schedules fertilization was re- 
ported on some parts of 1639 acres, requiring 635^4 
days of labor and 48334 days of team service. There 




Fig 91^Saw=toothed Grain Beetle 

Silvanus iurineuueusis : », adult beetle; b., pupa; c, larva — all enlarged, d, an- 
tenna of larva — still more enlarged (after Chittenden) 



were used 9100 pounds of commercial fertilizer, cost- 
ing $86.85, s"d 5977 loads of homemade material, val- 
ued at $2413.95. 

Planting — Planting methods included the whole 
range from hand dropping and hoe covering to the use 
of hand planters, and up through machines of varying 
efficiency to the best modern horse planters. As a 
result the efficiency of a day's labor varies widely, 
from .71 of an acre in New Hampshire to 12.44 acres 
in Nebraska. The acreage regularly planted was 3491 



308 THE BOOK OF CORN 

acres, reciuirhig' 442 j4 days of labor and 3/5)4 days of 
team service, an average accomplishment of 7.89 acres 
per day's labor. 

Cultivation — Cost of cultivation differs more than 
any other operation, owing to ditYerences in imple- 
ments used, and to differing degrees of care and labor 
given the crop. The whole area, 4051 acres, was cul- 
tivated twice; 3991 acres were cultivated three times; 
2515 acres received a fourth cultivation, while 442 
acres were given additional cultivation. To perform 
the total amount of cultivation given to the crop of the 
record required 2296J/ days of labor and 22975^ days 
of team service. The average performance per day's 
labor was 1.76 acres, this of course representing the 
total cultivation given to this breadth during the whole 
season. A day's labor sufficed to cultivate about 6.6 
acres a single time. 

Gathering and Cribbing — Two methods are fol- 
lowed, first, cutting up and shocking and husking from 
the shock ; second, husking from the standing stalk, 
the stalks remaining in the field to be pastured down. 
In this investigation 2976 acres were husked standing, 
requiring 2438^4 days of labor and 2264 days of team 
service, the accomplishment being 1.22 acres per day's 
labor, this including cribbing as well as husking. Of 
the crop cut up, 659 acres was done by hand, requiring 
595^ days of labor, or t.ti acres per day. Machines 
were used in cutting 215 acres, re(|uiring 74 days of 
labor and 48^4 days of team service, the accomplish- 
ment being 2.91 acres per day's labor. The balance of 
the acres of record was harvested by contract and is 
therefore not included in the calculation of the effi- 
ciency of labor per day. 

Husking from the shock was practiced on 651 
acres, excluding 212 acres by contract, requiring 
1223^ days of labor and 382^^ days of team service. 



COST OF GROWING CORN 



309 



or an accomplishment in husking and cribbing of .53 
acre per day's labor. 

Fodder — The value of fodder as a by-product 
must be taken from the gross cost of growing the corn 
crop. Where the crop is cut and shocked, the value 




Fig 92— Cornstalk Showing Work of Smaller Cornstalk Borer 

Natural size (after Riley) 

of the fodder is an important item, but where the* crop 
is husked standing the value of the stalks for pastur- 
age is slight. Fodder was shocked on 945 acres and 
this product was returned as worth $2174.70 in the 
field, or an average value per acre of $2.30 where the 
fodder is cut. On the 3T06 acres where the crop was 
husked standing, the selling value of the pasturage 



3IO 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



privilege was estimated !:>>' the owners at $990.60, or 
an average of 32 cents per acre. The ag"g're,q;ate valua- 
tion of fodder production by both methods was 
$3165.30, or an average per acre of 78.1 cents. 

Production — The total production of corn was 
158,815 bushels, or 39.2 bushels per acre. 

. With the preceding analysis of the methods fol- 
lowed in this investigation, the following table is pre- 
sented as a fair showing of the cost of producing the 
corn crop on the 4051 acres included in these schedules : 

ORANGE JUDD FARMER CONCLUSION AS TO COST OF 
GROWING CORN 



Acres so 


Total 


treated 


cost 


784 


$108.60 


889 


110.13 


3,4i»l 


1,723.48 


3,280 


584. 8(! 


560 


110.40 


1,C.39 


3,275.89 


3,4!)1 


519.84 


1.086 


108.69 


4,0.>1 


332 . 35 


4.051 


2,752.44 


3,106 


3,120. 7r. 


T.'iO 


725.45 


215 


95., 55 


867 


1,616.95 


4.051 


1,147.78 



Actual 

cost 
per acre 



Av Cost 
per a 
wliole 
aie;v 



Cutting stalks 

Breaking stalks 

Plowing 

Harrowing 

Listing 

Fertilization 

Planting 

Replanting 

Seed 

Cultivation 

Husked standing 

Cut by liand ;... 

Cut by niaehinery 

Husking from shock 

Taxation 

Team maintenance 

Depreciation of machinery. 
Depreciation of horses 



Total annual investment. 
Less value of fodder 



Actual cost per acre 

Cost l)er bushel (39.2 bushels per acre). 



S!0.139\ 
.124) 
4. 94 
.178 
.197 

1.999 
.149 I 
.100) 
.082 
.679 

1.005""! 
.994 1 
.444 f 

1.865) 
.283 



$0,054 

.425 
.144 
.027 
.809 

.15ii 

.082 
.679 

1.372 

.283 

1.4.50 

.V09 

. 149 



Cost ivith Allowance for Interest on Investment — 
It has been previously pointed out that in determining 
cost of production no allowance is made for interest 
on capital permanently invested. The difference be- 



COST OF GROWING CORN 3II 

tween the annual investment and the value of the crop 
produced represents the profit of production or the 
percentas^e of gain on the permanent investment. For 
the benefit, however, of those who desire to include 
interest or rent, the following table is presented, show- 
ing the proper allowance for interest on capital in- 
vested, at the rate of 6 per cent : 

COST WITH INTEREST INCLUDED 

Per acre 

Annual investment (details above) ... .$5,057 

Interest on machinery investment 125 

Interest on the value of horses 089 

Interest on annual investment 303 

Interest on value of land 2.862 

Total $8,436 

Per bushel 215 

CONCLUSION 

The tabulations which have preceded have in- 
cluded every item of cost of production, except an 
allowance for annual repairs of buildings, fences and 
farm roads, insttrance and superintendence. The 
allowance for these items must necessarily be a matter 
of opinion only. Leaving them out of the question, 
the data presented show that the cost of producing a 
bushel of corn of the crop under record may be fairly 
placed at 12.9 cents, and if sold from the crib at 21.5 
cents it would net the producer 6 per cent on his per- 
manently invested capital. 



CHAPTER XVI 
Nrto llara of (Enriv 

Corn will yet be the spinal column of the nation's agriculture.— James G. 
Blaine. 

/^ ()RX is the foundation of American agriculture, 
I I but the full possibility of the crop is not yet 
^*^ ajjpreciated. It is only within a decade or so 
that it has been regarded as other than a rude, 
primitive food for man and the feed par excellence for 
meat producing animals. During the past few years, 
however, attention has been directed to the economic 
possibilities of the corn plant, and scientific study and 
inventive genius have combined to open new lines of 
commercial importance in connection with our great 
cereal. 

The fact is only imperfectly realized that corn has 
forms of commercial value other than as cattle food, 
human food in the shape of meal, or for distillation of 
spirits. Yet at the Paris Exposition of 1900 in the 
American section there was exhibited a museum case 
containing one hundred and eight separate commer- 
cial products manufactured from corn. In this long 
list there was no direct duplication, each article having 
a different commercial use. though naturally there 
were some items that were only differentiations (tf the 
same product. Rut as each was intended for a differ- 
ent use the list practically represented fully one hun- 
dred commercial products. Such a list is a revelation 
of the rapidly growing importance of corn as the raw 
product base of manufacturing industry. 

Three Classes of Products — Roughly speaking the 
commercial products of corn may be divided into those 



NEW USES OF CORN 



313 



produced by mechanical or milling methods, those by 
chemical process and those made from the stalk or 
plant. Improvement in milling machinery has been 
very marked in the last few years, and the result is 
a large increase in the number of forms in which corn 
is made available for human food. Under old milling 

methods corn could only be 
ground into a coarse meal, and 
this was the only form in 
which it entered into the diet- 
ary of the people. This old 
process meal was made by 
grinding the whole grain, and 
it therefore contained the 
large percentage of oil which 
is in the chit or heart. This 
excess of oil made it difficult 
to preserve the meal fresh and 
sweet, its keeping quality be- 
ing low, and it was not a safe 
product for commercial pur- 
poses. 

The improvement in corn 
miUing is by the adoption of 
the roller reduction process 
similar to that used in wheat 
milling, but requiring much 
greater power, and by this 
process a flour is produced 
quite as impalpable as the best 
grades of wheat flour. Through the use of very 
ingenious machinery the chit, or germ, is mechan- 
ically removed from each grain of corn before it 
passes into the rolls, by this means removing all but 
a trace of oil from the meal or flour. The product by 
this process loses some of the distinctive corn flavor, 




Fig 93— Use of Cellulose in 
Warships 

The accompanying sketch 
illustrates the use of cellulose, a 
product of corn pith, in pro- 
tecting warships from shot and 
shell. If ashell from theenemy 
pierces the side of the ship be- 
low the water line, and passes 
through three feet of corn pith 
cellulose into the ship, the cellu- 
lose will swell up so quickly 
that no water will get in. A 
number of United States war- 
ships are thus protected. 



314 THE BOOK OF CORN 

but the loss is more than offset by the j^ain in keeping 
quality, and corn flour can now be used or shipped 
under the same conditions as wheat flour. Corn being 
without gluten in its composition this Hour must be 
used in connection with strong wheat flour, and when 
properly blended as much as thirty per cent of the 
cheaper product may be used, thus cheapening the cost 
of bread and furnishing a palatable and nutritious 
product. 

In the process of gradual reduction there is a 
demand for the product at different stages of manu- 
facture. When the grain has passed through the first 
process the coarsely broken grains are sold as samp 
or hominy, for which there is a large and growing 
market. An export trade of very considerable pro- 
portions has grown up in this product. When it has 
been further passed through the rolls and broken finer 
it finds its way to the table as a breakfast food under 
various names of hominy, pearl hominy, grits, etc. 
With each reduction there is cracked or dusted out a 
fine grainless powder, almost pure starch, that finds 
a market for special purposes in the confectionery 
and fine baking trade. 

Glucose — An industry which has become one of 
enormous proportions is the manufacture of glucose 
and kindred products. This belongs to the division 
of products the result of chemical process. Probably 
more than sixty million bushels per annum are now 
consumed by the glucose factories, and the industry is 
growing rapidly. Thirty or more separate commercial 
products, for which a permanent market has been 
established, are now made. Glucose is made in various 
grades of density, each for a specific purpose, the 
largest use being in the manufacture of table svrups 
and of confectionery. Other products are dextrin and 
gums for sizing cloth and especially as a medium for 



NEW USES OF CORN 



315 



carryino^ colors in clodi printing. Various grades ot 
starclies,. from edible to laundry, are also produced. 
These products may be regarded as the principal or 




Pig 94— Ear of Smutted Corn 

This ear is affected with smut only at the tip whore it was imperfectly 
covered by the huslis. From photograph loaned by the Indiana experiment 
station. 



original products of the glucose works, but there are 
a long line of by-products of large commercial and 



3l6 THE BOOK OF CORN 

economic value. The principal of these are corn oil 
and oil cake, oil cake meal ; various grades of cattle 
feed in the shape of gluten feed, bran, etc. 

Cornstalks in Mechanic Arts — Another line of 
products in which exploitation is just beginning is 
secured by a complete utilization of cornstalks. The 
full economic possibility of the stalk is not yet under- 
stood, but practical experience to some extent and 
laboratory experiments still further demonstrate that 
enormous wealth-producing possibilities are wasted in 
the failure to utilize cornstalks. Scientific tests have 
demonstrated that there is as much economic value in 
the stalks as in the crop of grain they bear, but up to 
this time the mechanical difficulties in the economical 
handling of the stalks have not been fully overcome. 
Good progress, however, has been made in that direc- 
tion, and it will only be a question of time until inven- 
tive genius will solve the problem. 

The most important product which is now a com- 
mercial success is the manufacture of cellulose from 
the pith of the cornstalk. This product has numerous 
chemical uses, but the important mechanical want 
which it fills is its availability for use as a packing 
between the inner and outer shell of warships. Upon 
contact with water it swells enormously and thus auto- 
matically closes water tight any aperture made by a 
shell or projectile piercing the ship's armor. The use 
of a backing of this kind is now specified in the con- 
struction of war vessels by nearly all naval nations. 

After the pith is extracted the remainder, chive 
or outer casing of the stalk, leaves and tassels, are 
ground into a coarse meal which careful experiments 
have shown to have a nutritive value for stock feeding 
little different from clover or timothy hay. In labora- 
tory experiments numerous other products have been 
made, alcohol, paper, smokeless powder, etc, and there 



NEW USES OF CORN 317 

is every reason to believe that the experiments of 
to-day will be the demonstrated facts of to-morrow. 
The economic possibilities of the corn crop are 
only beginning to be understood, and it is only a ques- 
tion of time until it shall become the most valuable and 
widely used ot the world's cereals. 




CHAPTER XVil 

^pprialtipa in (Ennt (Eulturt 

WEET corn is a species group of field corn 
known botanically as Zea saccharata, and is 
characterized by horny, more or less wrinkled, 
crinkled or shriveled kernels, having a semi- 
transparent or translucent appearance. It is a native 
of America, although the wild .form has never 
been discovered. It was first known about 1779, 
but it was not until 1850 or thereabouts that it 
was cultivated to any extent. At that time but two 
varieties were known. It is pre-eminently a gar- 
den vegetable, although the large growing kinds are 
used for forage and feeding purposes. The kernels 
are generally used green, also cut off the cob and dried 
to some extent, but dried corn is being supplanted 
largely by canned corn, the packing of which has 
grown to enormous proportions in the past few years. 
Although several million cases containing two dozen 
Number 2 cans each are packed each year, it is almost 
entirely consumed within the United States and Can- 
ada ; the foreign market for canned corn is capable of 
large development. Each standard can weigiis twenty- 
six ounces, including tin 

The production of corn for canneries is verv im- 
portant business in certain sections, notably in New 
York. Maine, Illinois, Towa, Ohio and some other 
states. It is grown by farmers as a field crop, who sell 
the ears to the factory and use the stalks for feeding 
purposes. As the ears are picked in their roasting 
stage, the stalk has opportunity to develop and 



SPECIALTIES IN CORN CULTURE 319 

contains more nourishment than where the ear is 
allowed to ripen. It is so rich in sugar that it spoils 
easily, if not kept and stored under the best conditions, 
and is somewhat harder to handle because of this than 
field corn. 

A constantly increasing area is devoted to sweet 
corn intended to be sold green in the husk for imme- 
diate consumption in towns and cities. Usually this is 
quite profitable, especially if the crop gets into market 
early. The demand for out-of-season specialties at 
high prices has led to the growing of sweet corn in 
greenhouses, in a small way, at a profit, and its cul- 
ture under cheesecloth sheds has also been suggested. 

BEST CONDITIONS FOR SWEET CORN 

Although sweet corn will grow on a large variety 
of soils, the best is a warm, sandy loam which retains 
moisture. Where it is raised for market, it is essential 
to have a warm, quick soil that will bring it in early, 
for the jirst corn fetches top prices, and when the main 
crop comes in the price falls rapidly. A difference of 
three or four days in time of maturity will often make 
a difference of several cents per dozen ears in the 
market price. 

In addition to a warm, quick soil, some quick- 
acting fertilizers are desirable, especially in sections 
remote from the central west, with its natural fertility. 
The preparation of the soil should begin bv rather 
deep plowing and the turning under or working in of a 
liberal application of stable manure. Use also two 
hundred or three hundred pounds of quick-acting ferti- 
lizer per acre, which should be put in the drill with 
the corn to give it a rapid start. When sweet corn is 
grown by market gardeners within hauling distance of 
large cities, sometimes as much as five hundred to one 



320 THE BOOK OF CORN 

thousand pounds per acre of commercial fertilizer is 
used. As the roots of corn do not ^o deep in search of 
plant food and moisture, the plant will not stand long 
and extended periods of drouth, therefore the prepara- 
tion and cultivation of the soil should be such as to 
conserve all moisture possible and to keep the plant 
growing rapidly. 

Sivect corn is a tender plant and will not stand 
much cold weather or any frost, therefore it should 
not be planted until danger of frost is over and the 
ground has become warm*. If planted in cold soil, the 
seed will often rot before sprouting and replanting 
is necessary. The ground is commonly marked into 
rows three to four feet apart and the corn planted in 
hills from two and one-half to three feet in the row. 
or in drills so that one stalk will stand in each foot. 
For the family garden, it is desirable to get the first 
crop as early as possible, therefore an extra early 
planting may be risked. Not only should an extra 
early variety be selected, but the seed may be artificially 
sprouted. To do this, put sand one inch deep in the 
bottom of a large pan or shallow box. Spread a cloth 
over this and the corn thinly on the cloth. Cover with 
another cloth and then a layer of sand one-half inch 
deep. Sprinkle with water and keep warm by the stove 
or in a hotbed or greenhouse. The com will all sprout 
in about five days. By this method of sprouting the 
seed is tested, the danger of rotting is reduced to 
a minimum and the harvest time is also hastened 
several days. 

After sprouting, the corn must be at once planted 
in the open ground. Another way is to plant five or 
six kernels in a five-inch pot and allow three plants to 
grow. Tf carefully done, the corn can be transplanted 
when six inches high and several days in maturity 
gained thereby. Even though the first planting should 




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^22 THE BOOK OF CORN 

be killed by a late frost, but little is lost thereby in the 
family garden. The main crop shovdd not be planted 
until all danger of frost is over, which will vary in 
different latitudes. 

For the family garden, several varieties should 
be planted, beginning- with the extra early and choosing 
a selection which will mature one after the other, and 
in this way keep the table supplied from late July 
until well into October. After the main planting addi- 
tional plantings should be made at intervals of two or 
three weeks up to the first of July. If the first sharp 
frost in the fall catches a patch of sweet corn with the 
ears in roasting condition, all change seems to be ar- 
rested. Although the leaves turn white and are of 
little use for cattle feed, the ears seem to undergo little 
change and will remain in good eating condition 
for two or three weeks and can be picked from day to 
day as wanted, but for canning they are practically 
useless. 

CULTIVATION AND HARVEST 

The cultivation should be frequent and thorough. 
A few days after corn is planted, rim over the ground 
with a weeder and follow this up at intervals of four 
days to a week until the corn is six to eight inches high. 
The use of the weeder when com is of a fair bight will 
tend to prevent too rank growth of stalk and to induce 
greater fruit fulness and the production of larger, better 
ears. After the weeder, use the cultivator, letting it 
run at a fair depth to induce as deep rooting as possi- 
ble. A plow should never be used which will cut off 
the roots nor should the last cultivations be deep 
enough to injure them. 

Sweet corn is commonly harvested when the ears 
have reached what is known as the roasting stage. A 
good way to determine whether garden corn is in the 



SPECIALTIES IN CORN CULTURE 323 

proper stage for use is to split the husk with the two 
thumbs about midway of the ear. An opening about 
an inch long can be made thrcrugh which the ear can 
be examined, and if immature the leaves can be closed 
again by gentle pressure. This method can be used 
without noticeable injury to the ear. If a few husks 
are stripped down, as commonly done, the com 
quickly spoils when exposed in this way. This method 
is not practicable for the market gardener or when 
picking for canneries. A little experience will teach the 
picker to tell by handling the ear when the kernels 
are plump and full, so he may know which to pick and 
which not to. 

After picking, sweet com, like peas, changes 
quickly, and loses its sweetness if allowed to heat. To 
obtain these two vegetables in perfection it is abso- 
lutely necessary that they be prepared and eaten as 
soon after harvesting as possible and before the sugar 
has had time to change to starch. This latter process 
takes place quickly when they are stored in bulk and 
explains why most of the corn and peas found in city 
markets lack the sweetness which is so characteristic 
of the home grown and freshly gathered article. If 
sweet corn must be picked one day and stored until 
the next morning before marketing, it should be spread 
out thinly over night on the ground or on the bottom 
of a cool cellar. A good average yield of sweet corn 
is from eight thousand to ten thousand marketable ears 
per acre. In market it is always sold by the dozen 
or hundred, but to canneries bv the ton. Canneries 
make contracts in the spring with farmers for a given 
acreage at a stated price per ton delivered. A deduction 
is always made for husks and immature ears. This is 
based on a fair average of how the crop will run. 
While the canners generally buy corn by the ton, husks 
and all, there are occasional instances where it is 



324 THE BOOK OF CORN 

bought husked, the husking and silking being done by 
the factory. 

Use of Szveet Corn Fodder — After picking the 
ears of sweet corn, the stalks are either cut and put in 
a silo or allowed to ripen, then cut, placed in shocks or 
stooks and fed in a dry state to cattle. In some sec- 
tions the fodder is stored largely in silos and the milk 
business thereby expanded. In ihe fermentation proc- 
ess which corn fodder undergoes in the silo, the sugar 
is changed to starch, and if the silo is not perfectly air- 
tight this changes again into acids which become very 
rank and strong, owing to excessive quantity. Al- 
though the stock seem to relish this sour silage, it 
oftentimes has an injurious effect upon the milk. But 
with a first-class silo and with the corn well cut and 
packed, the sweet corn fodder makes an excellent 
silage. The dry stalks make a rich, nutritious food, 
almost if not quite equal to timothy hay in feeding 
qualities, and are greatly relished by cattle. The stalks 
should be allowed to dry thoroughly in the field, then 
stored under cover in a dry place. Sweet corn stalks 
mold readily and spoil if at all damp. 

In the selection of seed ears, they should be chosen 
from the very best stalks true to the type or variety, 
and either marked in the field or a strip left unpicked 
for this purpose. Select neither the very largest ears 
nor the smallest, but there is a general type which it is 
desirable to perpetuate and the ears nearest to this type 
are the ones that should be chosen. After maturing 
well, the best method is to pick the ears from the stalk, 
leaving a few husks attached, and tie a half dozen or 
more in a bunch. These bunches may be put astride a 
fence or strung up in a dry loft where there is plenty of 
air. Sweet corn retains moisture a long time and must 
not be stored away in bulk. If kept from the weevil it 
retains its vitality two years or more. 




& 



■a'r* 



326 THE BOOK OF CORN 

VARIETIES OF SWEET CORN 

There are something Hke eighty varieties of sweet 
corn known to the American seed trade. Sturtevant in 
1899 Hsted sixty-three varieties and in 1889 American 
seedsmen cataloged seventy-six varieties. Dr Sturte- 
vant has divided sweet corn into three groups, accord- 
ing to the shape of the kernel. Seedsmen and growers 
generally classify it according to its period of ripening, 
there being the extra early, early or intermediate, gen- 
eral or main crop, and late. The illustrations (see 
Fig 95) from photographs of seed ears show some 
of the more popular varieties. The Cory is one 
of the most popular of the extra early varieties. It is 
eight-rowed, with good sized ears, large grains, but 
not of high quality, earliness being its great merit. 
Metropolitan, Marblehead and Minnesota are in this 
class, and like the early and extra early corns, the ears 
are of only medium size and the stalk from four to six 
feet tall. Perry Hybrid is a favorite market sort be- 
cause of the large size of ear and stalk. This, with 
Crosby and Moore Concord, matures after Minnesota. 
The Early Adams and Extra Early Adams are not 
properly speaking sweet or sugar corns, but are grown 
extensively by market gardeners for early use. 

For the general crop, Stowell Evergreen is pre- 
eminentlv the leader. The ears are of large size, ker- 
nels large and regular, and of fine quality. It pro- 
duces abundantly, makes a large growth of stalk and 
has the merit of remaining green and in good condition 
for a long time. The late sorts, which are of large 
growth, are generally of superior quality. The f^)lack 
Mexican, distinguished by the dark, almost black color 
of the grain or kernels, is very sweet in flavor. The 
Ne Plus Ultra or Shoe Peg produces ears of only 
medium size with kernels long and irn-gularlv set. 



SPECIALTIES IN CORN CULTURE 327 

The Country Gentleman, which is the same as this, 
except with larger ears, has become very popular in the 
past half dozen years. Egyptian is also popular. 

For canning, Stowell Evergreen is the most popu- 
lar and widely gfown. Other popular sorts are Egyp- 
tian, Crosby Early and Country Gentleman. The 
extraordinary reputation of Maine canned corn is due 
to the Crosby variety. In that state a better yield and 
a finer quality of Crosby corn is grown than elsewhere, 
but it does not even there produce the quantity per acre 
that the Stowell does in New York and the western 
central states. Because of its superior quality and 
lighter yield per acre Maine growers usually get a 
better price per ton than New York, and western 
farmers. 

Popcorn, known botanically as Zea cvcrta, is a 
species group, characterized by the excessive propor- 
tion of the corneous endosperm and the small size of 
the kernels and ear. The best varieties have corneous 
endosperm throughout, which gives it the property of 
popping, a complete eversion or turning inside out of 
the kernel through the expansion of moisture contained 
within it, upon the application of heat. The best varie- 
ties of popcorn have but little or no deposit of starchy 
endosperm, which when in excess interferes with pop- 
ping, as the kernel will merely split open or turn only 
part way. Popcorn is used largely by confectionery 
manufacturers for the making of popcorn balls, etc. 
It is also handled extensively by growers for family 
trade. Good crisp popcorn is not only appetizing but 
very nutritious. 

THE CULTIVATION OF POPCORN 

This differs but little from that of field or sweet 
corn. The valuable product is the ear, and the effort 
should be to produce as many of these on a stalk of as 



328 THE BOOK OF CORN 

good form and size as possible. Most varieties of pop- 
corn incline to grow too much stalk at the expense of 
ear. To overcome this, only moderate quantities of 
fertilizer should be employed. The best results are 
obtained from plowing an old pasture' and using com- 
mercial fertilizers made up largely of muriate of pot- 
ash, broadcasted and harrowed in. Harrow the ground 
well and mark out in rows three to three and one-half 
feet apart, except for the dwarf kinds, and plant either 
in hills or drills. Two stalks to every foot is plenty. 
Use the weeder freely until the corn is eight to ten 
inches high. This not only keeps the ground mellow, 
conserves moisture and prevents weeds growing, but 
it also has a tendency to prevent a strong and rank 
growth of stalk. 

When the corn is ripe, cut and place in small 
shocks or stooks, binding them tightly at the top with 
twine, weeds, straw or suckers without ears, in order 
to turn rain. Tie another band about midway between 
the tip and the butt, drawing it tight enough to keep 
the shock upright, but not so tight as to prevent the 
corn from drying out nicely. After drying, the corn 
should be husked in the field, or if drawn to the barn, 
it nnist be husked before rats and mice have oppor- 
tunity to work it. The ears are then stored in well- 
ventilated cribs, and must be kept absolutely free from 
mice and rats. If these vermin get into popcorn they 
spoil its sale for popping purposes and it is useful only 
for hen feed. The corn must be kept dry. and is not 
generally fit for sale until the following year. Although 
popcorn can be, and often is. marketed the same season 
that it is grown, it does not give as good satisfaction 
in popping. A few damp days will utterly spoil it. so 
that it must be dried out again. During the summer 
care must be taken that it does not become so hot as to 
bake, as its popping qualities would be destroyed. 



SPECIALTIES IN CORN CULTURE 329 

Marketing — Popcorn is commonly marketed by 
growers on the ear. A few dealers have worked up 
quite a business in shelling and putting it up in pound 
or quart pasteboard cartons, which are packed in cases 
and sold to grocers for family trade. Many grocers 
handle popcorn both in packages and in bulk on the 
ear. For corn in bulk, a better grade is always de- 
manded. One well-known eastern packer who sells 
largely to grocers buys western popcorn for his pack- 
age trade, but always the best crops of native grown 
for the trade in unshelled corn. Much of the western 
corn received in eastern markets is more or less shelled 
on arrival. Shelled popcorn kept in boxes through the 
hot weather is useless for popping. The corn gets too 
dry and will not expand enough in popping to evert it, 
but will split or crack. For this reason the trade for 
corn on the ear will always hold good, as corn of good 
popping quality can be kept only on the ear from one 
season to the next. 

Twenty-five varieties of popcorn were cataloged 
by Sturtevant in 1899. However, not more than half 
a dozen of these are grown to any extent. The White 
Rice is most popular in market and more of this is 
grown than all others together. This variety is dis- 
tinguished by the long, pointed, beaked kernel. There 
are several varieties of the Rice corn, which differ from 
the White in color only. These are the Red, Amber, 
Blush, Page Striped, Yellow, White's White, Monarch 
White and Bear Foot, the latter being a monstrous 
form and the others only color forms. The illustration 
(see Fig 96), from a photograph of seed ears, shows 
typical ears of some of the more popular varieties. 
The White Rice specimen was furnished by a Massa- 
chusetts grower who has made a specialty of this crop 
for fifteen years. This variety grows from five to seven 
feet tall and produces ears four to eight inches long. 



330 THE BOOK OF CORN 

Queen's Golden is another large-growing variety 
with yellow or orange-colored kernels. The ears are 
six and one-half to eight and one-half inches long and 
the stalks from six to eight feet tall. Silver Lace has 
ears five to six inches long and stalks six to seven feet 
tall. Mapledale Prolific is a very tall growing kind, 
sometimes attaining a hight of twelve feet. The stalks 
set several ears, varying from six to eight inches long. 
The kernels of these three varieties are smooth and 
rounded at butt. The Pearl is another popular tall- 
growing variety with smooth, rounded kernels but with 
smaller ears than the above. The California Golden is 
a dwarf variety growing from three to four feet tall 
and ears from two to three and one-half inches long. 
The kernels are beaked like the Rice corns and of an 
amber color. 

There is great variation in different ears of the 
same variety grown in the same field, and it is only by 
long and careful selection that a strain can be obtained 
which will prove fairly uniform. From a strain not 
carefully bred, all shapes, sizes, and shades of color of 
ear and kernel will be produced, some with good pop- 
ping qualities, and others lacking greatly in this re- 
spect. The yield, which is always estimated in pounds, 
varies from one thousand to two thousand pounds per 
acre and may run even higher in some varieties. A 
yield of fifteen hundred pounds per acre of Rice corn 
on the ear is considered a good, profitable acreage, but 
with less than one thousand pounds there is little profit 
in it. The price varies greatly, as the market for pop- 
corn is limited, and it takes only a comparatively small 
quantity to overstock it. Prices in a wholesale way 
vary from one to four cents per pound. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

iiaijc iu (f5tl|pr Camttrira 

^■THE overshadowiiis:^ importance of the United 
■ 1 1 States in corn production tends to obscure 
^^ the fact that the crop is grown in all quarters 
of the earth, and is an important crop and 
food resource in some part of each of the world's 
great continents. It is the cereal food of a vast pop- 
ulation in the northern provinces of China, where 
famine stalks in the train of a crop failure; it is 
a staff of life in northern Italy and to a less extent 
in the valleys of the lower Danube ; its green blades 
and golden tassels wave along the banks of the historic 
Nile, and it is having its part in the modern regenera- 
tion of the land of Joseph and Pharaoh. It is at home in 
the rich alluvial plains of the Rio de la Plata, and is 
the chosen food of the native sheep and cattle herders 
of northern Argentina, while in the great island con- 
tinent of Australia it holds a small but not insignificant 
place in agricultural development. 

For a series of years the contribution of the United 
States amounts to approximately seventy-five per cent 
of the recorded crop of the world, a proportion which 
during the past ten years has increased, rather than 
diminished, in spite of the fact that in some foreign 
countries the same period shows an increasing impor- 
tance of the crop that almost indicates a revolution in 
agricultural practice. In 1893 the United States de- 
partment of agriculture compiled a statement showing 
the corn crop in all countries of the world for which 
data were regularly available, making an average for 
what was practically the ten years preceding 1890 of 
2,003,074,144 bushels, of which the United States fur- 



332 THE BOOK OF CORN 

nished 1,680,696,600 bushels. In addition, unofficial 
allowance was made for other producinj^ countries, 
which swelled the total crop of the civilized world to 
"about 2,300,000,000 bushels." On this basis we pro- 
duced in that decade about seventy-three per cent of 
the recorded supply. 

STRONG POSITION MAINTAINED BY UNITED STATES IN 
world's TOTAL 

During- the decade just past the United States 
alone has grown in a single year a crop almost equal- 
ing the world's average production of the decade 
preceding, yet our proportion of the whole is still 
slightly under seventy-five per cent, and with our own 
maize land now practically all occupied, we have 
evidently reached a point where we may expect a 
diminishing figure to represent our proportion of the 
world's supply. Official figures covering all the 
countries included in the 2,300,000,000-bushel aggre- 
gate above quoted show an average w^orld's crop, 1895 
to 1899 inclusive, of 2.759,857.000 bushels, of which 
the United States contributed 2,257,062.000 bushels, 
or seventy-five per cent. Comparing these two state- 
ments of world production it will be seen that in the 
period ending with 1890 all countries other than the 
United States made an average annual contribution of 
619,303,400 bushels, while for the five years ending 
with 1899 the contribution of the same countries was 
702,995,000 bushels. 

The crop of the world, as tabulated by the United 
States department of agriculture from reported official 
sources, is more fully shown in accompanying table in 
Appendix. The federal census figures of 1900, how- 
ever, covering the year 1890. were eventually reported 
(in 1902) at 2,666.438,279 bushels, an amount mate- 
rially greater than that here named. Considering- the 



MAIZE IN OTHER COUNTRIES 



333 



snarp revision of official figures, increased acreage 
and consequent greater yield in the United States by 
the census of 1900, it has been necessary to make 
readjustment all along the line. The world's totals in 
recent years, therefore, must have been very much 
more than here indicated, and the figures are valuable 
chiefly in showing the relative distribution of corn 
growing in all countries. 

OUR CHIEF COMPETITORS IN CORN CULTURE 

It is obvious that this statement does not include 
all the countries of the world in which corn forms an 
important item of production, it being known that in 




Fig 97— Corn Crib Which Holds 20,000 Bushels 

This is the big crib in which the corn referred to in the text by Mr Maxon 
(see Page i6i) was kept It is an ordinary farm cril of great size covered with 
boards. 

some omitted Central and South American countries 
this cereal forms an important part in the ordinary 
dietary of the people, while in northern China, in 
Japan, Cochin China and portions of India the crop is 
of local importance. 

The Crop of Austria-Hungary — The dual empire 
takes second rank among corn-producing countries, 
with an annual average yield during the five years 



334 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



ending' with 1900 of 153,600,000 bushels. It is the 
leading cereal crop of the country and its volume 
shows marked increase in recent years. During the ten 
years ending 1890 the average crop was 110,000.000 
bushels, showing an increase of forty per cent between 
the two periods. Hungary produces the great bulk of 
the crop, and it is in this division of the empire that its 
importance has increased so greatly in recent years. 
While the country named ranks second in corn 
production, it consumes more than it grows, there 
being a net importation nearly every year, and the defi- 
ciency continues to increase in spite of the phenomenal 
gain in production during the recent years. The fol- 
lowing statement shows the Austrian imports and 
exports in bushels of fifty-six pounds during the past 
decade : 

MOVEMENT OF CORN INTO AND OUT OF AUSTRIA 



Year 


Imports 


Exports 


Year 


Imports 


Exports 


1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
1895 


1,998.985 
2,137,964 
2.947,7:« 
8,814.428 
8,459,592 


3,263.502 

4,236,998 

1,326,948 

435.534 

175.061 


1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 


4.728,6,36 
9,(>99,tiiy 
26,181.028 
6,098,470 
7,190,139 


800,6.54 
742.074 
119.044 
132.620 
84,982 



Corn Culture in Mexico — Corn is the great cereal 
crop of Mexico, with a production in some years fully 
twelve times as great as wheat, its nearest grain rival. 
That countr}^ is also unique in that the original corn 
plant is still found there in its wild state. The crop is 
grown for domestic purposes only, and in years of 
ordinary results the production about suffices for home 
requirements. The domestic use is mainly as human 
food, and as it forms the principal grain food of the 
people any crop shortage is followed by correspond- 
ingly large importations from the Ignited States. This 
importation in recent years has ranged from 154.644 



MAIZE IN OTHER COUNTRIES 



335 



bushels in 1901 to 8,825,860 bushels in 1897, following 
the partial crop failure of 1895 and 1896. The total 
crop of Mexico in recent years has ranged as follows : 
In 1893, 69,029,000 bushels; 1894, 77,273,000 bushels; 
1895, 71,906,000 bushels; 1896, 76,264,000 bushels; 
1897, 121,893,000 bushels; 1898, 111,347,000 bushels. 
The most favored section of the country for the 
production of this crop is that lying south of the 
twenty-eighth degree of north latitude, in the states 
bordering on either the Gulf or the Pacific. Here the 
seasons are divided into wet and dry, and it is claimed 



ri 




1: -z 



Fig 98— Small Com Crib in Feed Lot 

Sills are SxS inches, joists 2xS, studding: 2x4, lower part of sidinsf 1x6, upper 
part 1x4, roof common boards. The whole set on stone pillars. On farm of 
W. H. Provine, Christian County, Illinois. 



that in some districts two crops can be raised from the 
same field in a single year. This may account for the 
heavy rates of yield that are occasionally claimed. 

The states of principal production are Jalisco, on 
the Pacific coast, which with an area slightly larger 
than New York produced in 1898 a crop of 16,812,000 



336 THE BOOK OF CORN 

bushels. On the opposite coast the states of Vera 
Cruz, a narrow belt along the Gulf with an area a little 
over half that of Jalisco, produced 12,266,000 bushels, 
Guanajuato grew 10,934,000 bushels, and Michoacan 
5,020,000 bushels. Other states of important produc- 
tion are Sinaloa, Hidalgo, Puebla, Oaxaca, Mexico and 
Yucatan. Available statistics of yield show that in the 
territory between the twenty-eighth and twenty-fiftH 
degrees of north latitude the annual rate of yield varies 
considerably, indicating uncertain climatic conditions 
and especially tendency to drouth damage. South of the 
twenty-fifth parallel, especially in the coast states, the 
yield from year to year runs quite uniform, and it is 
in this district, where conditions are unusually perfect, 
that the largest part of the crop increase in recent 
years is centered. 

The Crop of Argentina — The area of Argentina 
climatically fitted to the production of corn is better 
understood and much more circumscribed than in the 
case of wheat. Broadly speaking, it is limited to the 
northern part of the province of Buenos Aires and the 
adjoining southern part of Santa Fe and including a 
limited adjoining area in Cordoba and Entre Rios. 
This district represents the most fertile available land 
in the republic, and practically all the land where corn 
can be success ally grown one year with another. 
North of this district long summer drouths come too 
early and with too great regularity, while south, in 
western and southern Buenos Aires, rainfall is too 
irregular or the growing season too likely to be short- 
ened by untimely frost. 

The first agricultural development of Argentina 
was in the corn belt, and it is a striking fact that here 
agricultural occupation has been more permanent than 
in other districts of the country. In the wheat and flax 
sections the farming population has been unstable, 



MAIZE IN OTHER COUNTRIES 337 

migratory in character, but in the corn belt cultivation 
has been systematic and agricultural improvement per- 
manent. Conditions surrounding the growth of corn 
in Argentina are unusually favorable, and with agricul- 
tural methods careless in the extreme the rate of yield 
averages very little less than the average in the United 
States. With corn planted in drills, rows only twenty- 
four to thirty inches apart, usually cultivated but once 
or frequently not at all, yields of twenty to thirty 
bushels per acre are normal. 




Pig 99 Corn in the Old Style Rail Cribs 

The rails are g'o to 10 feet long-. Each crib holds 350 to 400 bushels. 
These cribs are in Christian County, Illinois, a few miles north of Taylorville. 
The photograph was taken in October, 1902, at the beginning of the husking 
season. 

The great drawback to corn culture lies in the un- 
favorable climatic conditions for drying out the grain. 
The winter is a period of damp and frosty rather than 
dry cold weather, making it difficult to dry out the 
grain into merchantable condition. This failure to dry 
out makes it difficult and dangerous to handle or store 
Argentine corn, and the percentage of loss in cargoes 
during ocean voyage is very heavy. To some extent 



338 THE BOOK OF CORN 

this failure to secure corn dry enouj^h for commercial 
handling is due to careless and ineffectual methods of 
farm handling after harvest, but even where the great- 
est possible care is exercised the unfavorable chmatic 
conditions will remain as a severe handicap. 

During the past few years, while the acreage de- 
voted to wheat and flax has increased very rapidly, the 
importance of the corn crop has changed but little, fur- 
nishing ground for the opinion that Argentina is not 
likely to become in the near future a very important 
factor in the world's corn crop. Argentina agricultural 
statistics are scanty, and even when given as official 
are very unsatisfactory. No data of corn acreage bv 
provinces later than 1895 are available, this being as 
follows : 

ACREAGE UNDER CORN IN ARGENTINA 



Province 


Acres 




l,aw,116 
459,Xvl 
235,281 
179,694 








Other 


444,558 




Total 


2,972,003 







The acreage of the crop of 1900, not given sepa- 
rately by provinces, aggregated only 3,074.374 acres, 
showing an increase in five years past of only 102,371 
acres, or three per cent. The consumption of corn in 
Argentina is largely as human food, comparatively 
little being used as animal feed. This domestic use 
being about the same from year to year, the amount 
exported for a series of years will show with reason- 
able accuracy the varying production. The exports 
1891 to 1901 were as follows: 



maize in other countries 339 

Argentina's exports of corn 



Year 


Bushels 


Year 


BnshelH 


1891 


2,594,706 


1897 


14,760,717 


1892 


17,555,569 


1898 


28,230,990 


1893 


3,212,905 


1899 


43,945,554 


1894 


2.160,368 


1900 


28,079,149 


1895 


30,404,615 


19U1 


43,785,474 


1896 


61.828,113 







Russia — In comparison with other grains, corn 
occupies but an insignificant place in Russian agricul- 
ture, yet the acreage is steadily increasing, and there 
is abundant evidence that soil and climatic conditions 
in the southern portion of the empire are such as to 
permit of a great expansion in production. The rate 
of yield averages low, a fact which apparently may be 
due quite as much to poor methods of cultivation as 
to any natural condition. With corn apparently des- 
tined to occupy a higher permanent price level in the 
future, it is probable that Russia will become an in- 
creasingly important factor in the world's crop. 



corn crop of RUSSIAN EMPIRE 

The following statement shows the acreage and 
production of corn in the Russian empire in recent 
years, according to official statistics of that govern- 
ment : 





European Russia 


North Caucasus 


Total 




Year 


Acres 


Bushels 


Acres 


Bushels 


Acres 


Bushels 


Yield 
per 
acre 


1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 


1.917,621 
2.185,.350 
2.211.543 
2.351.606 
2,406,081 
2,709,430 


2*,940,476 
17.178.434 
45,488,291 
.'59,529,435 
22.640,741 
25,569,934 
56,542,400 


379.135 
366,976 
384.7.'?4 
435,262 
479.604 
559,043 


6.752.692 
6,!594.312 
6,477.268 
8. 388.082 
8.271 ..5.54 
8,686,.528 
7,098,400 


2.296.756' 31,693,168 
2,652,326 23,772,746 
2,596.277, 51,96.5,559 
2,786.868 47.917.517 
2.885.685, 30.912,295 
3,268,473 34,256,462 
63,640,000 


14.2 bu 
9.3 bu 
20 bu 
17.2 bu 
10.7 bu 
10.4 bu 



340 THE book: of corn 

It will be noted that in spite of the low rate of 
yield each year since 1895, the table relating;;- to Russia's 
corn production shows a substantial enlarg-ement in 
the corn acreage, and that between 1895 and 1900 the 
l)readth of the crop increased by forty-three per cent. 
If the figures of production above quoted may be ac- 
cepted as approximately correct, it appears that rather 
more than half of the Russian crop is exported, as 
shown in table in Appendix. 

The Crop of Roiummia — As in the case of the 
other Danubian countries, the acreage devoted to corn 
has increased rapidly in recent years, in spite of the 
low rate of yield usually secured. In the best years an 
average of twenty bushels per acre is rarely reached, 
and no crop of the country seems so subject to violent 
fluctuations of return. In 1894 the average yield was a 
trifle over twenty bushels per acre, while in 1895 the 
opposite extreme was reached with a return of but lit- 
tle more than five bushels. Despite this uncertainty, 
the acreage devoted to corn is already increasing. It 
was 4,184,372 acres in 1891 ; 4,560,230 in i8()5. and 
5,003,918 in T900, an increase of nearly twenty per cent 
between the beginning and the close of the decade. 
The exports during the past decade may be noted in 
table in Appendix. 



APPENDIX 



Oloru aH a -Nitragru (^atl|prrr 

SHE power of the maize plant to assimilate nitrogen from 
the soil, and to some extent from the air in the soil, and 
in the atmosphere, was demonstrated only after many 
years of experiment and scientific controversy. It can- 
not now be said that the whole subject is by any means fully 
understood, but certain principles have come to be generally 
accepted. And these principles have demonstrated the re- 
markable povver of the corn plant as a restorative crop when 
grown in proper rotation. 

Professor W. O. Atwater in 1876 inaugurated tests at the 
Connecticut agricultural exneriment station to ascertain the 
truth or falsity of the above principles, which are now so gen- 
erally accepted. Under his direction similar experiments 
were conducted by a large nimiber of farmers throughout the 
country, in co-operation with the American Agriculturist. 
This was really the inception of scientific work among prac- 
tical farmers that has since become so popular and had such 
an important influence. Atwater's work is set forth in great 
detail in the reports of the Connecticut board of agriculture 
and the United States department of agriculture. In 1881 he 
concluded : 

"Of the ingredients of plant food in our soils, the most 
important, because the most costly, is nitrogen. Leguminous 
crops, like clover, do somehow or other gather a good sup- 
ply of nitrogen where cereals, such as wheat, barley, rye and 
oats, would half starve for lack of it, and this in the face of 
the fact that leguminous plants contain a great deal of nitro- 
gen, and cereals relatively little. Hence a heavy nitrogenous 
manuring may pay well for wheat and be in large part lost 
on clover." 

This conclusion was directly opposite to the results at 
Rothamsted, England, for Dr J. B. Lawes had written in 1873 
to the Massachusetts society for the promotion of agricul- 
ture that "the best possible manure for wheat, barley, maize, 
oats, sugar cane, rice and pasture grass is a mixture of super- 
phosphate and nitrate of soda. Potash is generally found in 
sufficient quantities in soils, and an artificial supply is not 
required." 

But in more than half of Atwater's experiments with corn, 
and in nearly all with potatoes, the crops were materially 
aided by potash salts, and without potash in the fertilizer 



342 THE BOOK OF CORN 

lliey often failed. "The corn almost universally refused to 
conform to nitrogen in fertilizers, and persisted in getting on 
well without any artificial supply. But it was largely ben- 
efited by phosphoric acid, and often by potash." 

These results and concurrent investigations by other sci- 
entists and by many practical men, led some of the ablest 
agricultural writers of that time to champion the Atwater 
theory. Joseph Harris wrote in his book Talks on Ma- 
nures: "We know less about the manurial requirements of 
Indian corn than almost any crop. The main question is the 
nitrogen supply — whether, like other cereals (wheat, barley, 
oats, grasses, etc), corn has but little power to get nitrogen 
from natural sources, and requires nitrogenous fertilizers, or 
whether, like leguminous plants (clover, beans, peas, etc), corn 
can gather the nitrogen for itself. That is, whether corn is 
an exhausting crop like wheat or a renovating crop like 
clover." 

Summing up his work in 1881, Atwater concluded: "With 
the mineral fertilizers alone (phosphoric acid and potash) 
the corn crop gathered in these experiments some sixty pounds 
of nitrogen per acre. The important fact, however, is this: 
The corn plant has in these trials shown itself capable of 
getting on and bringing fair yields with but relatively small 
amounts of the less costly mineral fertilizers, even in the 
worn-out soils of the eastern states. With this help, corn 
has gathered its nitrogen from natural sources, and holds it 
readily to be fed out in the farm and returned in the form of 
manure for other crops. In other words, the experiments 
thus far imply that corn has somehow or other the power to 
gather a great deal of nitrogen from soil and air or both; 
that in this respect, it comes nearer to the legumes than the 
cereals. That in short, corn can be classed with the 'reno- 
vating' crops. If this is really so, and this can be settled 
only by continued experimenting, our great cereal, instead 
of being simply a consumer of the fertility of our soils, may 
be used as an agent for its restoration." 

Professor Charles V. Mapes, "without whose interest and 
enthusiasm, as well as coimsel and substantial help, the enter- 
prise could not have succeeded as it has" (said .^.twater in 
his official report), did much to popularize these results and 
promote their further verification. In a paper in the sixth 
annual report of the New Jersey state board of agriculture, 
1878, Pages 79-167, Mapes emphasizes the exhaustive effect 
of wheat, barley and other dainty-feeding small grains as 
compared with renovating crops like clover and corn. He 
laid stress on the ability of clover, corn and turnips to "for- 
age" successfully, but the other crops would fail, and sets up 
the following 



APPENDIX 343 



• CLASSIFICATION AND REQUIREMENTS OF CROPS 

Group A : Wheat, barley, rye, oats, timothy hay, require 
first nitrogen, next phosphoric acid, last potash. 

Group B : Corn, cotton, require first phosphoric acid, 
next potash, last nitrogen. 

Group C: Peas, beans, clover, red clover, hay, require 
first potash, next phosphoric acid, last nitrogen. 

In this table, corn in its demand for nitrogen as com- 
pared to potash and phosphoric acid is allied to clover rather 
than being classed with wheat, barley, oats, timothy hay, etc, 
as had been the rule previously. 

The estimated cost for fertilizer required for growing 
these staple crops on average soils in this country was on the 
following basis : Phosphoric acid and potash, full quantities 
as shown by analysis to be contained in each crop, that is, 
full rations ; nitrogen, one-half rations for wheat, barley, 
oats, meadow hay, one-quarter rations for corn and one-tenth 
ration for peas, beans and clover. 

In the New Jersey report for 1879, Mapes reviewed Lawes's 
and Gilbert's manurial experimentation at Rothamsted for 
thirty years. For the total period the wheat crop received 
about 3540 pounds more nitrogen per acre in farm manure than 
in chemicals or concentrated fertilizers, and barley received 
3021 pounds more nitrogen per acre in farm manure than in 
the concentrates. Yet in both experiments the results from the 
concentrated manures were equally good in every particular. 
What became of these differences in nitrogen, amounting in 
the two cases to 6551 pounds per acre, representing probably a 
value of $1200? 

Dr Lawes replied (seventh report New Jersey board of 
agriculture) "that no subject has occupied our attention more 
than that with relation to the assimilation, accumulation or 
loss of nitrogen," and concludes that a considerable propor- 
tion of it is retained in the soil. 

Mapes also emphasized that the plain superphosphate, even 
with the addition of potash, magnesia and soda, but without 
nitrogen, produced an average increase in the wheat crop of 
only one and one-quarter bushels per acre per annum above 
the yield from the natural unmanured soil. But when nitro- 
gen was added, in the form of sulphate of ammonia, the yield 
went up from seventeen to thirty-five bushels as the average 
per annum per acre. 

Dr Henry Stewart and others proved by their experience 
and writings that "if we had to supply all the nitrogen corn 
consumes, it would cost more to grow the crop than it would 
come to," whether the nitrogen were supplied in the form 
of manure or of fertilizers. Stewart pointed out (eighth report 
New Jersey board of agriculture, 1881) that, since it was neces- 



344 THE BOOK OF CORN 

sary to supply for corn on poor land only half the nitrogen it 
consumed, it would take no more nitrogen to raise one 
hundred bushels of corn on one acre than thirty-five bushels of 
wheat. Stewart maintained that the totally inadequate nitrog- 
enous manure used, resulting in large crops, conclusively 
demonstrated that corn is able to get its nitrogen from some 
occult source, when the crop is sufficiently provided with 
potash and phosphoric acid. 

The last article in this controversy v Dr Lawes (ninth 
report New Jersey board of pgriculture, 1882) says: "At the 
same time, while I think that corn (maize) in common with the 
other cereal crops is dependent upon a liberal supply of nitric 
acid in the soil, I must not in saying this be supposed to advo- 
cate its application artificially. I quite agree with Dr Stewart 
in thinking that mineral manure alone (phosphoric acid, pot- 
ash, etc) should be used with the addition of a small quan- 
tity of nitrogen, so long as they enabled the farmer to grow 
one hundred bushels of corn, or even a much smaller crop than 
that, per acre. The only difference between Dr Stewart and 
myself is this: I think that it is to the soil rather than to the 
atmosphere that we must look for the supply of nitrogen; while 
Dr Stewart's view is that the poverty of his soil does not admit 
of so large a supply of nitrogen being yielded." 

Dr Lawes concludes : "Corn is a giant among the other 
grain crops, and for me has a peculiar fascination. I have 
already called attention to the remarkable advantage which 
corn possesses over the other cereal grain crops in that it 
continues growing throughout the summer and ripens in the 
autumn, but. at the time of writing, I was not so fully im- 
pressed as I now am with the great value of temperature for 
the production of nitric acid in the soil. 

"With corn, the most vigorous growth and the most active 
assimilation of food take place just when nitrification is most 
active, but when the other cereal crops have done their work. 
No wonder then that the average yield of corn is much above 
that of other cereals. At the same time, although corn has 
access to sources of food in the soil which are not available 
for other grain crops, still the food itself must come out of 
the soil." 

CORN AS A RESTORATIVE CROP 

Out of the above controversy and by much successful ex- 
perience among practical farmers extending over the past 
twenty years, the conclusion is now coming to be generally ac- 
cepted that in a proper rotation of crops, but with a minimum 
of manure or fertilizer, the corn crop may be extremely useful 
in not only maintaining but in restoring the soil's fertility. 

"On the comparatively light and poor soils of New Jer- 
sey, the land has for many years and in numerous instances, 



APPENDIX 345 

shinvn decided improvement due to a rotation of corn, po- 
tatoes, wheat, timothy and clover. Stable manure is plowed 
under for the corn crop, which puts the soil and the manure in 
prime condition for the potatoes to follow. The potatoes are 
heavily dressed with commercial fertilizer, which so increases 
the yield and quality that the potatoes pay a handsome profit 
above cost of fertilizer. No manuring of any kind is done for 
the succeeding crops of wheat, timothy and clover. If, instead 
of using 1500 pounds of fertilizer on the potatoes, these farmers 
should use 500 pounds on the potatoes, 500 on the wheat and 
500 on the grass, their bills would be as high as now, the 
labor three times as great, and their crops of potatoes cut 
down nearly one-half, with but a small increase in grain and 
hay. It is because potatoes are a money crop of the farm that 
they are fed on the choicest food. The corn plant is the 
key-keeper of the rotation. Clover supplies the crude ma- 
terial and corn manufactures it into suitable humus for the 
potato plant, yielding its grain as almost clear gain. On a 
rotation of this kind, corn is quite as important as the clover, 
because of its ability as a weed cleaner, and also because 
stable manure should first be 'strained through a crop of corn' 
before being used on potatoes." 

As H. W. Collingwood points out, "one great advantage of 
this system is, that all the farm manure is used on the corn 
instead of on wheat or other crops." The hot summer is par- 
ticularly favorable for the action of the chemical [and bac- 
teriological] processes of the soil, including nitrification 
(changing of inert nitrogen into active' nitrate or ammonia), 
and in converting farm manure and all coarse materials in 
the soil into available plant food. Corn, during its long sum- 
mer growth, can freely use manurial supplies. Not so with 
wheat, for its growth stops soon after the corn crop has 
fairly started growing." 



34<3 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



Wifvat unit (Lam (Cumparrd 

It is a difificult matter to arrive at a fair basis for an in- 
telligent comparison of two such dissimilar crops as wheat 
and corn. Consultation with experiment station workers and 
others indicates that a wheat crop yielding fourteen bushels 
per acre will contain about 1400 pounds of straw of a given 
water content. In like manner, twenty-five bushels of shelled 
corn may be produced on an average of 3000 pounds of field 
cured corn fodder. While these two conclusions may there- 
fore be taken to fairly represent average conditions in Amer- 
ica, there are many wide variations from this standard. 

Such a crop of wheat grown on one acre, also of corn, 
would have (under average conditions) about the composi- 
tion below stated. (For explanation of the terms used, see 
note introduction to Table A. Appendix, on average composi- 
tion of maize, and for computation of "manurial values" see 
Table B.) 



Composition of the 
crops nieutiout'd 



Water, lbs per acre 
Dry matter, lbs per 

acre 

Ash, lbs per acre.. 
Dipestibleprotein, 

lbs per acre.. . 
Digestible liber, 

per acre 

Digestible starch, 

per acre 

Digestible fat, per 

acre 

Fuel value (calo 

ries) 

Nutritive ratio 

Feeding value, per 

acre 

Nitrogen, lbs per 

acre 

Phosphoric acid, 

lbs per acre 

Potash.lbs per acre 
Manurial value, per 

acre 

Total value, per 

acre 



14 bu 

wheat 
grain 



1,300,353 
1 to 



$7.31 



$3.53 
$9.07 



com 

grain 



14(K) lbs 

hay from 

wlieat straw 



154 

1246 
21 

in 

12 

886 

60 

2,195,700 
1 to 9 

$12.32 

26 

10 
6 



$14.56 



168 
12.T2 



283 

6 

1,035,972 
1 to 9 

$6.58 

9 

17 

$1.54 

$8.12 



aim ih-j 

hii.v from 
corn" foddir 


Total 

for 

wheat 


1200 


252 


1800 
49 


1988 
67 


45 


96 


169 


280 


432 


809 


21 


20 


2,146,620 
1 to 14 


2,336,325 


$12 


$13.89 


53 


29 


16 


12 


$9.60 


$5.07 


$21.60 


$7.19 



Total 
for 
eoru 



1354 

3046 
70 

156 

181 

1318 

81 

4,342,320 



$24.32 
84 



$14.08 
S36.16 



APPENDIX 



347 



Now, having found out the yield per acre of green and 
crib-cured corn, and of dry matter, or real food elements, the 
next question is, what is the real value to the farmer of these 
crops? Dividing the crops into three great classes, and ap- 
plying original data, American Agriculturist gets these results : 

POUNDS OF DIGESTIBLE FOOD ELEMENTS IN lOO POUNDS 
OF CHEMICALLY DRY CORN 



Name of Food Element 



Cellulose or fiber 

Fat or oil 

Protein or albuminoids (nitrogenous matter) 

Sugar, starch, etc (carbohydrates) 

Mineral matter (lime, potash, phosphoric acid, etc).. 



Feeding value per 100 pounds 

Manurial value per 100 pounds 

Total value per 100 pounds 

Feeding and manurial value per bushel of 56 pounds 



a 


^ 


o P 


Sc 






m O 




cS o 


<o o 


^ 


^ 


1.34 


2.16 


bM 


4.57 


10.7S 


10.26 


81.12 


81.58 


1.73 


1.53 


$1.17 


$1.14 


.34 


.28 


1.51 


1.42 


.84 


.79 



1.63 

5.63 
10.:^3 
80.89 

1.52 



Si.is 
.:i3 

1.51 

.84 



In this table, the composition of eastern corn is based on 
the average of seven analyses, made at the Massachusetts 
experiment station, of crops grown in the American Agricul- 
turist competition ; southern corn, average of five analyses, 
made at the South Carolina station, of prize crops grown in 
the state ; western corn, Jenkins's statement. The feeding 
value is based on 4.2 cents per pound for fat or oil, 1.6 cents 
for the protein, and o.g6 cent per pound for the sugar, starch, 
fiber, etc. These are the average costs of the respective 
elements, at the market prices for feed sold in Connecticut 
last year, as determined by Jenkins. It may be assumed that 
the digestibility of all these corns is practically equal, and, 
therefore, that in all three classes of corn 34 per cent of the 
fiber, 76 per cent of the fat, 85 per cent of the protein and qb 
per cent of the sugar and starch are digestible or available 
as food, imder a judicious system of feeding. The manurial 
value is based on phosphoric acid at eight cents per pound, 
potash five cents, and nitrogen 16 cents ; these elements often 
cost as much in ordinary commercial fertilizers. The total 
value per bushel is used for estimating the total feeding and 
manurial value of the prize crops in the large table of yields. 
It is an arbitrary basis of comparison, but is equally fair to 
all ; it has nothing to do with the market or commercial value. 



348 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF FEED STUFFS* 

The average chemical composition of the grain, of the 
mill products, of the different parts of the plant, both green 
and dry, is shown in accompanying table : 






Grain 

Dent — All analyses 

Flint— All analyses 

Sweet — All analyses 

Pop varieties 

Soft variet ies 

All varieties and analyses.. 
Mill and waste prodncts 

Corn meal — All analyses 

Corn and cob ni^al 

Corn cob 

Hominy chop 

Corn bran 

Corn germ 

Corn germ meal 

Cream gluten me. 1 

Chicago gluten meal 

King gluten aieal 

Gluten feed 

Buffalo gluten feed 

Peoria gluten feed 

Rockford gluten feed 

Chicago maize feed 

Glucose feed and refuse 

Dried starch and sugar feed. 

Starch feed, wet 

Corn fodder, preen 6 

Dent varieties 

Dent varieties, kernels glnzed 

Flint varieties 

Flint varieties, kernels gl;ized 

Sweet varieties 

All varieties 

Leaves and husks, green. . 

Stripped stalks, green 

Corn silrtge 

Corn fortiler, field otired 

Corn leaves, field cured 

Corn husks, field cured 

Corn stalks, field cured 

Corn stover, field cured c 






«^ t^ 



10.6 
11. o 

8.8 
10.7 

9. .3 
10.9 

15.0 

15.1 

10.7 

11.1 

9.1 

10.7 

8.1 

10.1 

12.3 

7.4 

7.8 

9.6 

7.5 

8.9 

9.1 

6.5 

10.9 

ti5.4 

79.0 
73.4 
79.8 
77.1 
79.1 
79.3 
66.2 
76.1 
79.1 
42.2 
30.0 
50.9 
68.4 
40.5 



1.5! 
1.4 
1.9 
1.5 
1.6 
1.5 

1.4 

1.5 

14 

2 5 

1.3 

4.0 

1.3 

.8 

1 3 

.5 

1.1 

2.3 

.8 

.8 

.9 

1.1 



10.3 
10.5 
11.6 
11.2 
11.4 
10.5 

9.2 

8.5 

2.4 

9.8 

9.0 

9.8 

11.1 

33.7 

36.5 

33.7 

24.0 

27.1 

19.8 

23.6 

22.8 

20.7 

19.7 

6.1 

1.7 
2.0 
2 
2.1 
1.9 
1.8 
2.1 
.5 
1.7 
4.5 
6.0 
2.5 
1.9 
3.8 






2.2 
1.7 
2.8 
1.8 
2 
2.1 

1.9 
6.6 

80.1 
3.8 

12.7 
4.1 
9.9 
1.7 
1.4 
1.2 
5.3 
6.7 
8.2 
6.6 
7.6 
4.5 
4.7 
3.1 

5.6 
6 7 
4.3 
4.3 
4.4 
5.0 
8.7 
7.3 
6.0 
14.3 
21.4 
15.8 
11 
19.7 



70.4 
70.1 
66.8 
69.6 
70.2 
69.6 

68.7 
64.8 
54.9 
64.5 
62.2 
64.0 
62 5 
51.1 
45.8 
52 6 
51.2 
51.1 
51.1 
56.6 
52.7 
56.8 
54.8 
22.0 

12.0 
15.5 
12.1 
14 6 
12 8 
12 2 
19 
14.9 
11.0 
34.7 
35.7 
28.3 
17 
31.5 



6.0 

6.0 
8.1 
6.2 
6.5 
6.4 

3.8 
3.5 
.5 
8.3 
6.8 
7.4 
71 
2.6 
27 
46 

10 6 
3.2 

12.6 
3.6 
6.9 

10.4 
9.0 
31 

.6 
.9 
.7 
.8 
.6 
6 

11 
.5 
.8 

1.6 

1.4 
.7 
.5 

1.1 



a Arranged from Jordan's The Feed of Animals— 1901. 
i By corn fodder is meant the entire plant, Including the ear. 
c By corn stover is meant the portloD of the plant remaining 
after the ear is removed. 



APPENDIX 349 

Attwrtrat! AgrtrulturtHt (Horn (Houtfat 

Many growers all over the United States competed in 
i88g for prizes offered by the American Agriculturist (pub- 
lished by Orange Judd Company, New York) for the largest 
yield of corn on one measufed acre — forty-three thousand 
five hundred and sixty square feet. The rules (as worked 
out by Herbert Myrick) were simple, uniform, and were 
rigidly adhered to, including surveying of land, witnessing 
harvest, weighing crop, etc. There was no room for error 
or fraud, the results were never questioned, and are accepted 
as a scientific demonstration of the possibilities of maize 
culture. 

Thanks to the co-operation of the respective state 
agricultural experiment stations (except that the Iowa crops 
were analyzed by the United States department of agricul- 
ture), v/e are able to give, for the first time in the history 
of this crop, a concise statement not only of the yield of ear 
corn, kernels and cobs, with the percentage of each, but also 
the percentage of water in ear corn, kernel and cob. With 
this data it has been possible to ascertain (see the three 
columns 4, 5 and 6 in the table) : 

First, the number of bushels of shelled corn, in its fresh 
or green state, as husked. 

Second, the number of bushels to which this green 
shelled corn would shrink, when kiln-dried until it contained 
only ten per cent of water, thus representing corn that has 
been kept in a dry crib for several months, until it will shrink 
no more. 

Third, the number of bushels of chemically dry corn, with 
no water whatever in it. The farmer speaks of old. crib- 
cured corn as dry, but such grain contains at least ten pounds 
of water in every hundredweight. But the sixth colurnn 
shows the number of bushels of chemically dry matter in 
the crops. 

It is on the basis of dry matter that the crops are 
arranged in the table, and the prizes awarded. The dry 
matter, not the amount of water in a crop, measures its 
value. For instance, crop No 5, of one hundred and thirty 
bushels of shelled corn, green weight, being grown in Georgia, 
where the latter part of the season was quite dry, contained 
only sixteen per cent of water; the one hundred and thirty 
bushels, therefore, contained one hundred and ten bushels of 
chemically dry corn or dry matter. But crop No 7, from the 
moister Illinois climate, contained twenty-seven per cent of 
water in its kernels, so that its one hundred and thirty bushels 
of green or fresh corn yielded only ninety-five bushels of dry 
matter. Crop No 5, although apparently exactly the same 
size, really contained fifteen bushels more of actual corn. 



350 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



PRIZE WIXXIXG CROPS IX AMRRICAX ACRRTT-TURIST 
CORN CONTEST OF 1889 (GROWN OX ONE ACRE) 



Percentage 


F 


UBh 


lU 


of 






0; 




8h 


tiled Co 


rn. 




















«> < c 




1^ 


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Is. i| 














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a 
% 


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E 


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a 

t 

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a 


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_ 


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= £ = "_ g« 

e f^-^" 1111° 
„ d Kja » 

sc '3 ^55 
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m 


U 


a 











H 


>?;&.' 



1. Zacliariah Jordan Drake, 
Marlborough Co, S C; see full 
descriptive article, I'age 172 

2. Alfred Rose, Yates Co, NY; 
land, sandy loam; fertilizer, 8(i0 
pounds iMapes corn manure; vari- 
ety. Early Mastodon; one kernel 
every foot in rows 3 feet apart 

.3. George Gartner, Pawnee Co, 
Neb; land, blark rich loam; fer- 
tilizer, barnyard manure, 90 loads: 
variety. Early IVlaslodon ; bills, 
3x3 feet , 

4. J.Snelling, Barnwell Co, S C ; 
land, sandy loam; fertilizer .300 
bushels stable manure, 300 bushels 
<iotton seed ; variety ,Wliite Gourd; 
hills, 1 X 4 feet 

.5. W. L. Peck. Rockdale Co, (ia; 
land, sandy loam; fertilizer, 4 
wagon loads stable manure, .30 
bushels heated cotton seed, looo 
pounds Packard standard fertili- 
zer, 500 pounds cotton seed meal; 
variety, large white corn; liills, .^-6 
X 4 f ee"t 

6. B. Gediiey, Westchester Co, 
N Y; lan<l, clay loam; fertilizer, 
800 pounds Mapes corn manure; 
variety, King I'hilip; bills,!;, x3'.^ 
feet 

7. B. P. Kellenberger, Madison 
Co, III; land, sandy loam; no fer- 
tillzf"r; v.ariety. Eclipse (early 
yellow dent ) ; hills, 5-6 x 2V2 feet.. . . 

8. H. M. Kersey. Mai shall Co, 
la ; land, dark rich loam ; fertilizer, 
20 loads stjvble manure; variety, 
Nebraska dent ; hills.l's x 2 feet.. . . 

9. L. S. Wells, Hartford Co, Ct; 
land, heavy sandy loam ; fertilizer, 
60 loads stable nianure, .30 bushels 
hen manure, (iOO pounds bone, 200 
pounds nitrate of soda, 200 pounds 
muriate of potash, 20 liushels wood 
ashes ; variety, Clark's Early 
Mastodon; hills, B'/j x 3V2 feet 



3456 789 10 



84 8f 



80 



87 



68 



213 191 174 



65 171 151 137 



130 121 110 



95 



100 



80I 82 66 110 99 90 132 66 23 76 



C2 



182 



16,146 



108 



92 



APPENDIX 



351 



d 


a 


i 


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■a 


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H 


> fe: 


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2 3 45B7 89 10 



10. E. W. Lupton, Berkeley Co,W 
Va; land, clay loam; fertilizer, 
5 cords stable manure; variety, 
ClouiVs early dent and a mixture of 
yellow corn ; li ills, 1x3% feet 

11. P. C. Hiller, Lancaster Co, 
Pa; latid, clay and sand mixed; 
fertilizer, 600 potmds special fertili- 
zer ; variety, a local corn, Improved 
Chester Gourd ; hills, IV2 x 3I/3 feet 

12. E. R. Towne, Washington Co, 
Vt ; land, gravelly; fertilizer, 78 
loads barnyard nianttre ; flint vari- 
ety of his propagation; 2and3 ker- 
nels every 6 inches; rows, SVa feet.. 

13. Morris C. Smith, Linn Co, la; 
land, sandy loam ; fertilizer, '22 
loafls barnyard maimre; variety, a 
mixture of several kinds; hills, 'i 
X 3 5-6 feet 

14. R. T. Gillespie, York Co, S C ; 
land, mucky loam ; fertilizer, 1200 
pounds acid phosphate, 500 pounds 
kaiiiit, 500 pounds cotton seed 
meal ; varfetv, large white corn ; 
hills, \l X li ifeet 

15. Jacob S. Pfrinner, Harrison 
Co, Irid; land, s:indyloam; fertili- 
zer. 500 pounds Lister's pliosphate ; 
variety, not stated ; hills, 1x2 and 
Sfeet." 

16. Henry Campbell, Monmouth 
Co.NJ laiid. clay loam ; fertilizer, 
18 loads stable "manure; variety, 
Ohio Gomd; hills, 1x4 feet 

17. D. Pence, Fairfield Co, O; 
land, black muck; fertilizer, 190 
pounds IJowker's, 12 loads barn- 
A'ard manure, salt; variety , yellow 
(lent; hills, 1 6-6x3 feet 

18. J. M. Giaham, Hickman Co, 
Tenn ; land, clay loam; fertilizer, 
300 bushels ashes, 500 pounds Ten- 
nessee guano, and barnyard ma- 
nure; variety, dent corn ; hilj8,3 x 
3 feet 



117 



90 



38 74 



73 



82 



89 81 



49 



34 



63 



65 



352 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



PareenUg* Buihels of 
ot Shelled Corn. 



9 — 






3 S 

is 



= o,£ ~ t = " ««- 



:^ = c ci 



I si 



2 3 4 5 6 



19. A. L. Griffith, Monroe Co, O; 
land, brown and yellow <'lay loam; 
fertilizer, 50 bushels wood ashes, 
•200 pounds Mapes raw bone, 100 
pounds Mapes corn manure, 300 
pounds Buckeye superphosphate, 
50 pounds ammonialed superphos- 
phate, 41) loads b.irnyard manure; 
variety. Golden Beauty ; hills, 1 x 3A 
feet 

20. R, M. Allison, York Co, S C; 
land, sandy loam; fertilizer^ 7500 
pounds barnyard manure, 175 
pounds Farmers' Alliance guano, 
400 pounds Edisto, 600 pounds wood 
ashes, 4 bushels lime in salt; 
variety, Maryland; hills, i x 4 feet 

21. M. H. Carraway, Harrison 
Co, O; land, clay loam; fertilizer, 
40 loads stable maiuire; variety of 
his own iiropagation ; hills, 2^ x 3J 
feet 

22. Henry Butler, Washington 
Co, Kan; land, black loam; fer- 
tilizer, 600 pounds Ma]>es corn 
manure ; variety. Calico corn , hills, 
1x3 ti-et 

23. R. M. Allison, York Co, S C; 
land, sandy loam ; fertilizer, 7.^>oo 
pounds stable manure, 200 bushels 
cotton seed, 20 sacks xinleached 
ashes, 2 sacks guano; variety, 
Garratt; hills, irregular widths 
by 5 feet 

24. Abel Allen, .Ir, (Caldwell Co, 
Mo; land, black prairie loam ; fer- 
tilizer, barnyard manure; variety, 
white dent ; "hi lis, 1 x 3 5-6 feet 

25. E. M, Williamson, Darlington 
Co, S <■'; land, sandy loam ; fertili- 
zer, 600 pounds cotton seed meal, 
600 pounds dissolved bone, ,'{00 
pounds kainit, I'txi pounds Edisto 
ammoniate<l", variety, William- 
son ; hills, 1>4 X 1'/, 

26. J. C. Miller, Fairfield Co,0; 
land, clay and bla<'k Joam ; fer- 
tilizer, 300 pounds Crocker's wheat 
and corn phosphate ; variety, yellow 
dent; hills, 1 to IV4 x 3V, feet 



86 



63 



96 



84 



83 



79 



25 



62 



6T 



APPENDIX 



353 



Percentage BueheU of 



of 



Shelled Corn. 



.S .5 S 



aU O o 

■5- S £ - 



.^ n s 



I d"^ =£ S-sll 



m 


Q 


a 


C3 


o 


U H > 


fc-° 


&> 


1 


!4 


3 


4 


5 


6 7 8 


9 10 



27. Ira L. Hershey , Lancaster Co, 
Pa; land, sandy "clay loam ; fer- 
tilizer, 6 cords hog manure, 1700 
pounds South Carolina phosphate, 
200 pounds land plaster; variety, 
Golden Beauty ; hills, 3x4 feet 

2S. J. N. Muncey, Buchanan Co, 
la; land, sandy "loam; fertilizer, 
.il loads barn yard manure ; variety, 
(ioddard's King of the Earliest; 
hills, Jx3to35-6 feet 

29. Fonshee J. Tebbs, Harrison 
Co, Ky; land, black loam; fertili- 
zer, none ; variety, not stated ; hills, 
1x3 feet 

30. John C. Dillon, Hampshire 
Co, Mass; land, sandy loam; fer- 
tilizer, 12 loads barnyard manure; 
varieties. Pride of the North and 
Norton's Favorite; hills, 1 7-12 x 3 
1-6 feet 

31. A. H. White, York Co, S C; 
land, clay loam; fertilizer, 202 
loads stable manure, 1400 pounds 
cottonseed meal, acid phosphate 
and kainit mixed, and 760 pounds 
soluble andguuno; variety, his own 
p>ropagaiion ; hills, li x 2J teet 

.32. .Joseph S. Wells, Hampsliire 
Co, Mass; land, clay loam; fer- 
tilizer, 1250 pounds Chittenden's 
complete tobacco manure; variety, 
Leaming ; hills, 3x3 feet 

33. Edwin Harper, Georgetown 
Co, S C; land, a pine plain; fer- 
tilizer, 100 cartloads hog manure, 
120 bushels green cotton seed; 
variety, Hick's Gourd seed-corn; 
liills, ix6 feet 

;J4. Alfred Fuller, Cattaraugus 
Co, N Y ; land, black loam and fine 
gravel; fertilizer, 30 loads stable 
manure ; variety, yellow flint ; hills, 
not stated 

35. W. S. Westcott, Hampshire 
Co, Mass; land, strong gravelly 
loam; fertilizer, 10 cords stable 
manure, 600 pounds Siockbridge; 
variety, yellow flint; hills, 1 7-12 x 
3 1-6 feet 



83 



79 



67 



57 



101 



69 



68 



106 



16 



46 



55 



57 



354 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



23466789 10 



36. Frank Goodwin, Middlesex 
Co, Mass; land, clay loam; fer- 
tilizer, 7 cords barnyard manure, 
900 pounds Bradley's pliospliate, 2 
barrels lime; variety, Longfellow ; 
hills, 3x3V.^feet. 

37. William H.Tarbox. Kent Co, 
R I; land, loam; fertilizer, 19 
loads barnyard manure, 21 loads 
barnyard dirt, 20 loads sink drain, 
2 loads lien manure and sand, 400 
pounds Bradley's phosphate; 
variety, Sanford ;*hills, 1 to IJ x 3^ 
feet .' 

38. Henry Tillson, Franklin Co, 
Mass; land, sandy loam j fertilizer, 
1800 pounds Quinnipiac phos- 
phate; variety, early yellow dent; 
hills, ^-6 X 3 feet 

39. Ezra Mieliener, Bucks Co, 
Pa; land, sandy clay loam; fer- 
tilizer, 10 loads barnyard manure; 
variety, no distinct variety ; hills, 
IV4 X 3 feet 

40. E. J. Grover, Milwaukee Co, 
Wis; land, black and sandy loam; 
fertilizer, 5 cords barnyard 
manure; variety, yellow dent; 
hills, not stated 

41. George P. Smith, Franklin 
Co, Mass; land, alluvial soil ; fer- 
tilizer, 15 loads stable manure, 800 
pounds Quinnipiac phosphate; 
variety, yellow flint; hills, 3I3X 
31;, feet 

42. E. A. Robinson, Johnson Co, 
Ind ; land, clay luam and muck; 
fertilizer, 10 loads t>arnyard 

lanure, 10 barrels hen manure; 
variety. Early Masto<lon ; hills, 3% 
X 1 5-6 feet 

43. Charles J. Tilden, Hartford 
Co, Ct; land, clay loam ; fertilizer, 
1600 pounds Mapes corn manure; 
variety, yellow flint ; hills, 1 x 3feet 

44. Henry Wood, Richland Co, 
S C; land, sandy loam; fertilizer, 
2 sacks Stone's acid j)hosphate, 2 
sacks Azolile top dressing, 2 sacks 
cotton seed meal, lime, salt, 1 sack 
kainit, 28 one-horse loads statile 
manure; variety, Adam's early; 
hills, not stated 

45. .lames IMcCutclien, Williams- 
burg Co, S C: land, sandy loam; 
fertilizer, 5.55 ijushels sheep's ma- 
nure, a mixture of I'iO bushels green 
cotion need, 320 jiounds acid plios- 
pliate, 160 jxiunds kainit ; variety. 
Hickory Kin^; liills, l''4X.i';. feet... 



79 



79 



90 



82 



63 



58 



61 



63 



56 



33 



115 



47 



92 



88 59 45 41 30' 89' 68 34 



44 



43 



42 



36 



Average of the entire 45 crops 80.5 7S (>;i 104 89 81 34 2 34 66 



APPENDIX 



355 



COMPARISON BETWEEN THE AVERAGE RESULTS OF THE 

CONTEST CROPS IN THE EASTERN, SOUTHERN 

AND WESTERN STATES 



Plats of One Exact Acre each 



Weight, of green corn on ear 

Per cent of slielled corn 

Pounds of slielled corn 

Per cent of cob 

Pounds of cob 

Per cent of dry matter in kernels 

Pounds of dry matter in kernels 

Per cent of dry matter in cob 

Pounds of dry matter in cob 

Per cent of wafer in corn on ear 

Pounds of water in corn on ear 

Bushels of shelled corn green as harvested 

Bushels of crib-cured or kiln-dried shelled corn 
Bushels of actually dry matter in shelled corn. 



Total feeding and manurial value of the crop . 



<c o 



«S 



,74g 
2: 

,594 
74 

,273 

52 

868 

31 

!,229 

103 

84 

76 



6 M 



52 

03'-' 



7,178 

8a 

5,910 

17 

1,274 

81 

4,834 

7,976 

993 

18 

1,346 

106 

95 

86 



C 09 

* O 

^3 



7,139 

81 
5,766 

19 
1,363 

79 
4,549 

64 
805 

24 

1,785 

104 

87 

81 



IMPORTS OF CORN INTO VARIOUS COUNTRIES 
[in bushels] 



bl 




ce 




c - 


United 


® » 


States a 


CSfH 




u 




1901 


5,169 


1900 


2,480 


1899 


4.171 


1838 


3,417 


1897 


6.284 


1896 


4,338 


1895 


16,575 


1894 


2,199 


1893 


1,881 


1892 


15,290 


1891 


2.111 


1890 


1,626 



United 
Kingdom 



102,745,600 
108,303,140 
125,482,700 
114,338,584 
107,570,760 
103,544,200 
67,888,700 
70,730,086 
65,805,006 
70.762,448 
53,651,250 
86,875,668 



France 



11,601,428 

13.011,518 

20,552,330 

22,07.1,636 

15,609,5.56 

12,981 „531 

5.359,.534 

9.848.097 

12,845,179 

8.744,8.-i4i 

3,2H4.407| 

26,208,944 



Ger- 
many 



46,978.408 
54.491,801 
64,0.36,148 
62,224,833 
49,8,52,174 
32.3.35,118 
12.748,510 
22.9,58,637 
29.962.333 
28.2.39,222 
16,07.^,089 
22.122,287 



Belgium 



14,944 
20,729, 
20.429, 
18,060, 
15,.514, 
13,021, 
8,116, 

b 

b 

b 

b 

b 



Holland 



18,639,106 
25.134,518 
29,034,795 
27,655,441 
20,155,704 
17,4,37,024 
7,687,590 
8,105,436 
12,475,620 
10.953,035 
6,176,020 
8,209,406 



Spain 



2,671,093 

b 
2,829,615 
4,253,001 

b 

b 

b 

b 

b 

b 

b 

b 



a Year ended June ; 



/> Figures not available. 



356 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



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357 



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DO » 

fi c 

~ c« 2 — I- 1* 

^^a"??,, i»iua3 



5 (B <B 

s oj as 

— tn 9) 

^ c a 

i< o o 

d o o 
PQUU 



358 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



TABLE B — MANORIAL VALUE OF FEEDING STUFFS 



NAME OF ARTICLES 



Green Fodders 

Corn fodder 



Gal fodder 

Timothy (average)... 

Red clover 

Alfalfa 

hoja bean 

Dried Fodders 

Corn silafie .. 

Corn fodiler 

Corn stover 



Uay from 

Timothy 

Red clover 

Allalfa 

Wlit'ai .straw 

Oat straw 

Soja beau 

Roots 

Potatoes 

Beets 

Mangel-wurzels. . . 

Turnips 

Ruta-bagas 

Carrots 



Grains and Other Seeds 

Corn 

Barley 

Oats 

Rye 

VVIieat (all varieties) 
Cotton seed (whole) . . 

Mill Products 



Corn meal 

Corn and cob meal — 

Oatmeal 

Barley meal 

Ground <'orn and oats. 
Pea meal 



NiTKO 
UE.\ 



Waste Products 



Gluten feed 

(iluten meal 

Hominy chops 

Malt sprouts 

Brewers' grains (wet) . . 
Brewers' grains (dried) 

Rve bran 

Wheat bran 

Wheat middlings 

Wheat shorts 

Buckwheat middlings . 

Cottonseed meal 

Cottonseed liulls 



.41 

.49 
.48 
.53 
.72 
.29 



.42 
1.76 
1.04 



1.26 
2.117 
2.19 
.59 
.62 
1.75 



1.82 
I 51 
2.06 
1.76 

2.:;6 

3.00 



1.58 
1.41 
1.86 
1.55 
1.90 
3.08 



3.72 
5.03 
1.63 
3.55 

.89 
3.62 
2.32 
2.67 
2.03 
2.10 
1.3H 
6.64 

.75 



PHOS- 

I'HOKIC 

ACIIJ 



.S9 
1.00 



.63 
.57 

.66 
.69 

.82 



.30 

.33 

.98 

1.43 

31 

1.03 

2.28 

2.89 

.95 

70 

.08 

2.08 

.18 



Potash 



.33 
.38 
.76 
.46 
.50 
.53 



.39 

.89 

1.40 



.90 
2.20 
1.68 

.51 
1.24 
1.32 



.40 
.47 
.59 
.34 
.41 
.99 



.01 

.05 

.49 

1.63 

.05 

.09 

1.40 

1.61 

.03 

.51 

.34 

1.79 

l.t)8 



Manukial 
Valuk 



I'er 
100 lbs 



$0.08 
.09 
.11 
.10 
.13 
.07 



$0.07 



$0.25 
.41 
.42 
.11 
.15 
.33 



$0.04 
.05 
.04 
.04 
. < '5 
.114 



$0.32 
.28 
.37 
.32 
.42 
.&! 



$0.28 
.25 
.34 
.27 
.33 
.54 



$0.55 
.77 
.31 
.06 
.15 
.69 
.61 
.60 
.46 
.37 
.25 
1.20 
.16 



Total 
Valuk 



Per 

100 lbs 



$0.19 
.34 
.33 
.27 
.27 
.20 



$0.18 
.56 
.49 



$0.65 
.77 
.85 
.53 
.56 
.74 



$0.17 
06 
.09 
15 
.13 
.11 



$1.04 
.96 
1.02 
1.00 
1.08 
1.15 



$0.98 

.91 

1.15 

.91 

.i!8 
1 13 



$1.29 
1.54 

.98 
1.09 

.28 
1.05 
1.04 

.98 
1.10 

.93 

.94 
1.76 

.44 



APPENDIX 
MiBtellantauB ulablro 

CORN CROP OF THE WORLD BY COUNTRIES 

[in round millions of bushels] 



359 





1896 


1897 


1898 


1899 


1900 


1901 


United States 


•2,284 
'25 
76 


1,903 
25 
122 


1,924 
24 
111 


2,078 
22 
93 


2,188 
28 
100 


1,419 
25 
90 


Canada (Ontario) 


Mexico 


North America 

Chili 


2,385 

9 

80 
5 


2,050 

8 

40 

4 


2,059 

10 
56 
4 


2,193 

9 
72 
6 


2,316 

8 

60 
3 


1,534 
g 




69 


Uruguay 


7 


South America 


94 

30 
18 
15 
80 
164 
65 
26 
16 
24 


52 

30 
20 
16 
06 
133 
80 
25 
16 
52 


70 

23 

14 

16 

80- 
164 
102 

38 

25 

48 


87 

26 
25 
16 
89 
145 
28 
20 
15 
31 


71 

24 
16 
83 
162 
85 
36 
24 
34 


84 


France 




Spain 




Portugal 




Italy 


86 


Austria- Hungary 

Koumania 


145 
112 


Bulgaria and E Roumelia 
Servia 


30 


Russia 


66 


Europe 


438 

34 
2 


438 

35 
3 


510 

32 

2 


395 

30 
3 


486 

20 

2 




Egypt 


30 


Cape Colony 


2 




36 
10 


38 
9 


34 
10 


33 
10 


22 
10 


32 


Australasia 









RECAPITULATION BY CONTINENTS 





2,385 

94 

438 

36 

10 


2,050 

52 

438 

38 

9 


2,059 
70 






510 


Africa 


34 




10 






Total 


2,963 


2,587 


2,683 



2,193 


2,316 


1,534 


87 


71 


84 


395 


486 




33 


22 


. 32 


10 


10 




2,718 


2,905 


1,989 



3(^ 



XD 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



TIIIRTV YEARS OF CORN PRICES AT CHICAGO, NO 2 CASH 
[in cents per bushel] 



Year 


Jan 


May 


July 


Sept 


Dec 


1902 


56^)65 


59® 65 


72 a 90a 


57@63 


44@57 


1901 


30 tt 38 


43g 59 


43 a 58 


54^60 


62a66 


1900 


31 a 32 


36 a 41 


38 a 45 


39 a 43 


35d41 


1899 


350 38 


33 a 34 


31o35 


31^35 


30@32 


1898 


20 o,28 


32 o 37 


32 a 36 


29;'d;31 


33 a 38 


1897 


21 a 23 


23 a 26 


24o29 


27:5:32 


25327 


189G 


25a28 


27 o, 30 


24 a 28 


19®22 


22a24 


1895 


40a4t; 


46 o 55 


41 a 47 


31 0,36 


24d27 


18W 


34 a 36 


36 a 39 


40«46 


48:a58 


44a48 


1893 


40 0.45 


39 0,1 45 


35 o 42 


37@43 


34a37 


1892 


37 a 39 


40ol(ll)a 


47o52 


43@49 


39a43 


1891 


47 050 


55 a 70 


57 a 66 


48 a 68 


39d59 


1890 


28 30 


32 a, 35 


33 a 47 


44@50 


47 a 53 


1889 


33a3G 


33 a, 36 


34 a 37 


30 a 34 


29^35 


1888 


47 50 


f)4o 60 


45 a 51 


40 a 46 


33@36 


1887 


35 a 38 


37 a, 3'.i 


34 o 3H 


40(a44 


4«la:52 


1886 


3Ga37 


34 a) 70 


34 a 45 


36 a 41 


35d38 


1885 


34 40 


44 a) 49 


4Va4H 


40 a 45 


36d43 


1884 


rAaf.S 


52 o; 57 


49 a 57 


51g87 


34a40 


1883 


49«G1 


52 o) 57 


47 o. ".3 


47^53 


54(a63 


1883 


G0o62 


68.0J 77 


74 a Ki 


57a75 


48 a 60 


1881 


3Go38 


41 oJ 45 


45 a 51 


60®74 


58a64 


1880 


3Go41 


■Ma 38 


3.-; a 3H 


39d41 


35^42 


1879 


29«31 


33 a 30 


34 a 37 


32'a39 


39d43 


1878 


38 a 44 


34 «; 41 


35«41 


34(538 


29^32 


1877 


41ia44 


4:!oJ 58 


4Go51 


4la4G 


41 a 46 


1876 


40 a 46 


44 a= 49 


42 a 48 


43a 48 


43@47 


1875 


64 a 70 


60 a 76 


67 o 77 


54a 62 


46g54 


1874 


49 a 61 


55 a 66 


58 a 80 


66 a 86 


71(186 


1873 


30 31 


37a 43 


32a34 


32a44 


44(a54 


a Abut 


rmal price, c 


lue to tempo 


rary iiiauipu; 


ation of mar 


ket. 



EXPORTS CORN FROM SURPLUS COUNTRIES — BUSHELS 



^i^ 



1901 
1900 
1899 

1898 
1897 
1896 
1895 
1894 
1893 
1892 
1891 
1890 



United 
States a 



176,588,000 
2(19,348,000 
174,089,0110 
2(W,745,000 
176,916,000 
99,993,000 
27,691,000 
65,325,000 
46,037,000 
75,452,000 
30,768,000 
101,973,000 



Argen- 
tina 



Russia 



43,784,474 19,162,000 
28,079,3001612,287,448 



43,945,790 
J8,231,14() 
14,7G0,S00 
61,828,450 
30,287,(00 
2,157,000 
3,300,157 
17,487,647 
2,584,666 
27,736.500 



618,447,939 
29,S(;8,42I 
13.i;45,743 
8.:i41,319 
19,404,857 
17,452,214 
10,245,857 
13,872,857 
18,134,357 
13,248,000 



{'ana- 
da a 



f/438,246 
2,142 

40,9:!2 
2,389 

53,913 
9,7(15 



Egypt 



50,090 
61,280 

lOG,o;w 

39,C),34 
326,185 
43,062 



120, 1,507,324 



734, 

2,790| 

394 

180 



867,246 

49,873 

1,199,184 

3,983,74 



Bulgaria 



Rouma- 

nia 



9,882,851 
1,595,420| 17,089, 
6,187,t;81 2.f,442 
5,223,847 44,063 
3,071,1101 30,776 
4,248.449 17.475 
1.732,a")7' 11.815 
7,(;;«,500 24,801 
ll,4r>;i,C)07 43,289, 
2,784,714 2,3,488 
1,543,653, 25.(132 



221,8481 6,266,600l 29,267 



,216 

,889 
.029 
,447 
,9f4 
,571 
,062 
414 
,580 
,480 
,000 



a Year ending- .June 'M). Fifjures for Canada relate only to Canad 
grown. Kxports of corn from T'nited States year ended ."luue 30, 11 
were only 26,324,000 bushels, owing to short crop and hijch prices. 

i Exclusive of exports over the .Vsiatic frontier. 

c Figures not available. J Eleven months to May 31. 



lan 

;I02, 



APPENDIX 



361 



TEN YEARS MOVEMENT OF UNITED STATES CORN CROP 
[In millions of bushels. Crop year July i to following June 30] 





1902-3 


1901-2 


1900-1 


1899-0 




2,556 


1,419 
429 

30 2 


2,188 
825 

37 7 


2,GGG 

8G2 


On farms Marcb 1. . . 




Farm stocks % of 




39 


Visible supply July 1 


6 


14 


11 


14 


12 mos exports 


al3 .. . 


27 


178 


209 


Chicago price Nov . . 


52:a58 


57^3:04 


35@50 


31233 


Chicago price May . . 


«ft,a48 


59«G5 


50 a 55 


36>g41 



a Six months only, July 1, 1902, to January 1, 1903. 
b January, 1903. 



VISIBLE SUPPLY OF CORN IN UNITED STATES AND 
CANADA 

[In round millions of bushels, first week of month named. 
This represents the amount in public warehouses in the large 
cities east of the Rocky mountains, and afloat on canals and 
lakes.] 



Year 


Jan 


Feb 


Mar 


Apr 


May 


Jun 


July 


Aug 


Sept 


Oct 


Nov 


Dec 


1902 


12 


12 


10 


9 


6 


4 


6 


7 


3 


3 


3 


4 


1901 


11 


15 


20 


22 


19 


16 


14 


13 


13 


14 


13 


11 


1900 


13 


15 


20 


23 


18 


12 


11 


12 


5 


8 


8 


9 


1899 


21 


28 


33 


33 


22 


13 


14 


10 


7 


12 


13 


12 


1898 


38 


40 


41 


43 


27 


21 


23 


18 


17 


21 


24 


20 


1897 


20 


23 


26 


25 


17 


14 


16 


17 


31 


37 


45 


40 


1890 


G 


12 


13 


17 


11 


10 


9 


12 


14 


14 


19 


17 


1895 


11 


13 


13 


13 


9 


11 


9 


5 


5 


6 


6 


6 


1894 


10 


15 


19 


17 


10 


8 


5 


4 


3 


4 


3 


5 


1893 


11 


14 


16 


15 


10 


8 


8 


7 


6 


9 


8 


7 


1892 


7 


7 


10 


12 


6 


4 


8 


7 


8 


11 


13 


11 


18!tl 


3 


3 


3 


3 


3 


6 


4 


4 


7 


8 


3 


2 


1890 


9 


12 


14 


21 


13 


14 


14 


12 


8 


9 


7 


2 


1889 


10 


13 


16 


17 


12 


12 


9 


7 


12 


12 


8 


C 


1888 


fi 


7 


9 


9 


8 


9 


11 


8 


8 


10 


11 


7 


1887 


14 


16 


16 


19 


19 


13 


10 


8 


6 


7 


8 


5 


1886 


8 


7 


11 


16 


12 


8 


9 


9 


12 


13 


13 


11 


1885 


4 


5 


6 


9 


8 


5 


5 


4 


5 


5 


5 


4 


1884 


10 


13 


14 


17 


12 


8 


7 


4 


4 


7 


6 


6 


1883 


9 


11 


14 


18 


17 


14 


13 


U 


11 


14 


10 


9 


1882 


17 


18 


14 


10 


8 


10 


7 


6 


6 


7 


4 


6 


1881 


16 


17 


16 


14 


15 


10 


15 


16 


23 


27 


26 


Vi 



362 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



AMOUNT OF DIGESTIBLE NUTRIENTS IN THE CORN 
PLANT" 

The average percentage of digestible nutrients supplied 
by the grain, the mill products and the different parts of the 
corn plant : 



Grain, mill and by products. 

Corn — all determinations . . . 

Dent corn 

Flint corn 

Sweet corn 

Corn and cob meal 

Cob meal 

Corn brail 

<;iuten meal 

(lerni meal 

Starch refuse 

(Jrano ylulen 

H(jmiiiy chops 

(Jlucose meal 

Sugar meal 

Starch feed, wet 

Silage, fodder, etc 

Corn silage 

Corn fodfler, green b 

Corn fodder, field cured 

Corn stover, field cured c . . 



Protein 

% 


Carboby- 
drates 

% 


Fat 

% 


7.9 


66.7 


4.3 


7.8 


C6.7 


4.3 


8.0 


66.2 


4.3 


8.8 


63.7 


7.0 


4.4 


60.0 


2.9 


0.4 


52.5 


0.8 


7.4 


59.8 


4.6 


25.8 


43.4 


11.0 


9.0 


61.2 


6.2 


11.4 


58.4 


6.6 


26.7 


38.8 


12.4 


7.5 


55.2 


6.8 


30. a 


35.3 


14.6 


18.7 


51.7 


8.7 


5.5 


21.7 


2.3 


0.9 


11.3 


0.7 


1.0 


11.6 


0.4 


2.5 


34.6 


1.3 


1.7 


32.4 


0.7 



a From Henry's Feeds and Feeding. 

b The entire plant. 

c What is left after the ear is removed. 



UNITED STATES CORN ACREAGE AND CROP 





Acres 


Bushels 


Average yield 
per acre 


Exports, year 
ended June 30 


IW.' 


94,4SS.(KK» 


2.r..".t;,;iil.UK) 


27.1 


26,();i7.0(X) 


1901 


91,jim;,()(ki 


l,41.S,S4'.t.(HK) 


15..5 


177,S1S.(KH) 


1900 


X."),'.".l-l.(HK) 


■J.lSS.(KKt,(HKI 


25. 7 


2it.;<4S.(KHI 


1890 a 


72,()8S,()(K( 


'-M'-"-'.:'.L'f<,(KKI 


2<).4 


10l.974.IHHI 


1880 


62,.369.(KIO 


l,7.'^4,."i9'J,(KHI 


28.1 


9:5,64S,(HH) 


1870 


b 


7(«1,94,'".,(I(KI 


b 


10,677,(HH) 


1865 


18,990,000 


7(M.42S.(KHI 


37.0 


14.4lU;.(HHI 


1860 


b 


.s:{.s.7'.i;{,(Hiti 


b 


4.249.(HHt 


IS.--* 


b 


,")92.tt71,<NH) 


b 


7,f.;B.tHJ0 


1840 


b 


377,.'>:?2,(HH» 


b 


b 



a In census years 1890, 1880, etc. figures relate to crops grown preced- 
ar. 
Figures not available. 



mg year, 



APPENDIX 363 

CORN CROP OF THE UNITED STATES 



Leading 




'U>'iTED States 
Corn Crop of 1902 


Federal Census Figures 


Corn 
States 





fed 


A 

CO 

K 


1900 


1890 


1860 


Bushels 


Bushels 


Bushels 


New York. .. 
Pennsylvania 
Texas - - 


670,000 

1,477,000 

5,a51,000 

2,485,000 

3,425,000 

776,000 

3,415,000 

3,9.50,000 

1,577,000 

4,550,000 

9,650,000 

1,725,000 

1.708.000 

9.275,000 

6,925,000 

7,735,000 

7,411,000 

65,000 

1,505,000 

56,000 

20,000 

10,000 

1,500.000 

19.277,000 


24.0 
30.0 
13.5 
21.3 
22.8 
25.2 
26.0 
36.5 
30.0 
37.5 
38.0 
29.1 
27.3 
.35.5 
.36.8 
28.5 
34.5 
22.8 
13.0 
28.0 
23.0 
25.0 
29.2 
12.0 


16,080,000 
44,310,000 
72,239,000 
52,931,000 
78,090,000 
19,555,000 
88,790,000 
144,175,000 
47.310,000 
17().(VJ5.(KMI 
.3(;i!.7IKl.(KM) 
ri(l.l'.lS.(KMI 
4l^(V_'S.(KM) 

.'t".i.L'i;:'..(«Ki 

254, 84(1, (KK» 
22(1.44.S,(MK» 

2.''>ri.(;s(i.(M«i 

1,4S2,(K)0 

19,.5(i5,000 

l,.568,00O 

460,000 

2.50,000 

43,800,000 

2.31 ,,324,000 


20,024,850 
51,869,780 

109,970,a50 
44,144,098 
67,307,390 
16,610,000 
73,974,220 

1.52,0.55,390 
44 ,.584.130 

17S,!lti7.(170 

:'.'.is,14'.l.l40 
r.:;.:;o!t.sio 
47.-j.">(:.'.i'J() 

:;s:!,4.-.:'..r.«» 

•J(lS;,,S44..870 

•_"_'!•. o:;7.4:«i 

•_'l(l!074.740 

1,284.S70 

32,402,,540 

1,477,093 

3.59,523 

218,706 

38.239,880 

:»1 ,024,289 


I5,ioo.'.i(;;i 
42,318. ■.'7:1 
69,112.1.-1(1 
33,982,318 
63,635,350 
13,730,.506 
78,434.847 

113,892,318 
28,785,579 

1(18.843.094 


2(t,(i(;i,049 
28.V.W,821 
l(i..5(H1,702 


Arkansas . 
Tennessee 
West Va . 
Kentucky. 




17,823,588 
52,089,926 


64,043,633 
73,.543,190 


Michigan . 




12,444,676 
71 .,588.919 


Illinois .. . 
Wisconsin 
Minnesota 




289. (IV17.2.-.C.! 115.174,777 
.•■!4.(I24.21(;! 7,.517,300 
24.(;0(;.44(!' 2.041,952 

:;i:!.l:;o.782 42.410.686 


Missouri . . 
Kansas . . 
Nebraska . 
North Dakc 


ta 


10(i,009,01(i 

259,574,568 

215,895,996 

178,729 

13,1.52,008 

2,381,270 

238,203 

1.56,413 

234,315 

204,123,919 


72,892,157 

6,1,50,727 

1,482,080 

20,269 


California . . . 


510,708 
76,122 


Washington . 
Oklahoma . . . 
Other 


4,712 
233,'3i8,748 


Total 


94,488,000 


27.1 


2,.5,56,311,000 


2,666,440,279 


2 122,.327,.547 


838,792,742 



364 



THE BOOK OF CORN 



Legal Weights of Grain-Pounds per Bushel 

[Carefully complied from official sources] 



Maine 

New Hampshire 

Vermont 

Massachusetts . • 

Rhode Island 

Connecticut 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania. ■ 

Delaware 

Maryland 

Virjiinia 

North Carolina 
South (Carolina • 

Georgia 

Florida 

Alabama 

Mississippi 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Arkansas 

Tennessee 

West Virginia. . 

Kentucky 

Ohio 

Michigan 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

Kansas 

Nebraska 

Oklahoma 

California b 

Washington 

Oregon 

Colorado 

North Dakota.. . 
South Dakota — 
Montana 



Corn 

Shelled 



56 
56 
56 

5(3 

56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
a 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
5(! 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
5(5 
56 



56 
5(> 
56 
56 
56 



Corn 

Ear 



70 



70 

70 

70 
70 
70 
70 
72 
72 
70 
70 



72 
68 
70 
68 
70 

70 
70 
70 
70 

70 
70 



70 
70 
70 
70 



Oats 



32 
32 
32 
.32 
32 
32 
32 
-.30 
32 
.32 
26 
30 
32 
32 
33 
.32 
32 
32 
32 
.32 
32 
32 
32 
32 
32 
.32 
32 
.32 
32 
,32 
32 
32 
32 
.32 
32 
32 

32 
32 
32 
32 
32 



Rye 



56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 

56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
.56 
56 
56 
.56 
56 
56 
56 
56 
54 
56 
56 
.56 
56 
56 
56 



Barley Wheat 



48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
47 
48 

48 
48 
47 
47 
48 
47 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
47 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
48 
50 
48 
46 
48 
48 
48 
48 



60 
60 
60 

60 
60 
60 



60 



60 



60 



60 
60 



60 



60 



60 



60 



a 3;r> pounds per barrel. Oats ;ij poinids, ai'i'ordliiK to Haltlinore C'haui- 
ber of Oominerce; slielled coni .'iii, wlieal liU, rye 51), barley 4K. 

6 III Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyon\tnR. no state 
or territorial laws, cereals bein« sold almost exclusively by welKbt. This 
true to some extent in California, Orejfon aiul WashliiKton. 



INDEX 



American Agriculturist contest 349 

Antiquity of plant 

Argentina: 

Crop of 336 

Corn acreage in 338 

Exports from 339 

Austria-Hungary, crop of 333 

Binder, use of 15 

Bisulphid of carbon 273, 275 

Botany and varieties — Chapter 

11 5-36 

Bran, how obtained 191 

Breeding: 

Advantages of 55 

Barren stalks in plat 64 

Field 61 

ISIethods of 57 

Plats, arrangement of 6 

Selection of variety in 58 

Breeding and selection of seed 

corn — Chapter IV 55-69 

Butt, grades of 79 

By-products, composition of... 191 

Carbon bisulphid 273, 275 

Characteristics: 

Fixed by selection 10 

Physical 11 

Chloride of lime 248 

Circumference of ear, meas- 
uring 79 

Clover: 

As a soil fertilizer 40 

Plowing sod for corn 46 

Securing a stand 42 

Seeding for fertilizing 41 

Seeding with nurse crops. ... 41 
Seeding during last cultiva- 
tion 44 

Seeding alone 46 

Cob, proportion of corn to.... 82 

Color, grades of tj 

Commercial products of corn.. 312 
Compounds, at various stages. . 144 
Co-operative storing and selling 239 

Corn judging — Chapter V 70-82 

Corn pests and diseases — Chap- 
ter XIV 241-288 

Cornstalks in mechanic arts.... 316 
Cost of growing corn — Chapter 

XV 289-311 



PAGE 

Cost of production: 

American Agriculturist esti- 
mate 297, 310 

Diflficult to estimate 289 

Explanation of term 298 

Illinois investigation 291 

Nebraska farm estimate 296 

Sibley estate estimate 295 

Unreliable official estimate... 290 

Wisconsin investigation .... 293 

Crops: 

Classification of loi 

Corn a restorative 344 

Requirements of 343 

Of the world 359 

Of the United States 363 

Comparison eastern, southern, 

western 355 

Cribs: 

Double 159 

Most suitable 159 

Cultivation: 

Alternating method 167 

Cost of 308 

Dunton system 165 

Early methods of, in America 4 

Object of 178 

Reasons for 119 

Shallow 1 20 

Southern methods 163 

Culture outside the corn belt — • 

Chapter XI 163-187 

Cutting and shocking 151 

Dent corn: 

Benton 31 

Boone County White 24 

Characteristics 13 

Development of 8 

Early Mastodon 30 

Golden Eagle 17 

Iowa Silver Mine 18 

Learning 22 

Pride of the North 31 

Rcid"s Yellow 15 

Riley's Favorite 19 

N'arieties 12 

AX'liite Superior 20 

Digestion, summary of exper- 
iments 144 

Ditching, to destroy insects.... 261 



366 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Elevators : 

'Attitude of railroads toward. 238 

I'armers' 238 

I'loating 236 

Line 226 

Export trade 236 

Exports from surplus countries 362 

Extent of crop 331 

Feeding—Chapter XII 188-223 

Feeding: 

Importance of corn in 188 

To dairy cows 200 

To growing steers 201 

To hogs 205 

To horses 206 

To poultry 208 

Feeding the plant — Chapter VII 

92-110 

Fertilizers: 

Barnyard manure 52 

Commercial 54 

Constituents, soluble and in- 
soluble 96 

Cottonseed meal for the 

south 106 

Direct 95 

Essential constituents of . . . . 94 
Experiments with and with- 
out 39 

For field corn 103 

For forage and silage corn.. 107 

For sweet corn i og 

Indirect 95 

Kainit 248 

Labor required in applying.. 306 

Manurial value of feedstuff's. 358 

Moderate quantities sufficient 105 

Nitrate of soda 250 

Use of manure spreader 33 

Flint corn: 

Ooolittle 28-34 

Rhode Island White Cap.... 35 

X'arieties of 26 

Warren 28 

Flowers, development of 5 

Fodder: 

Best time to cut for 150 

Composition of maize as. . . . 356 

Cutting corn for 146 

Storing 152 

\'alue of 309 

]''oods : 

Balanced and unbalanced.... 201 

Chemical composition of. . . . 378 

Classification of 197 

Corn a carbonaceous 195 

Digestible elements in dry 

corn 347 

Efficiency of mixed... 204 

Hints in selecting 199 

Rich in protein 196 

Gathering and cribbing, cost of. 308 



PAGE 

Germination, conditions of 83 

Glucose, production of 234, 314 

Green crops, preserving without 

silo 138 

Harrowing, cost of 305 

Harvester, use of 180 

Harvester and shocker com- 
bined 162 

Harvesting — Chapter X ....140-162 
Harvesting: 

Hints as to methods and time 181 

Old method 140 

Stage of development. ... 141, 146 

Top stalking 182 

Harvesting in the south: 

.\'ew method, by shredder.... 170 

Old method, by hand 168 

Ilight, maximum 147 

Hilling or drilling 113 

History of corn plant — Chap- 
ter I 1-4 

Horses, experiments in feeding 207 
Husking: 

Machine for 158 

Time required for 157 

Standing corn 15^1 

Imports into various countries. 355 

Inbreeding, effect of 65 

Insects: 

Army worm 260 

Black-headed maggot 250 

Black weevil 274 

Boll worm •. 265 

Bud worm 256 

Chinch bug 267 

Click beetle 247 

Corn root aphis 269 

Corn root louse 269 

Corn worm 265 

Cutworms 259 

Grain moth 2T 2 

Grain weevils 273 

Grasshoppers 244 

Grass louse 271 

Hints in recognizing 241 

Indian meal moth 275 

Jumping jacks 247 

June beetle 254 

Larger cornstalk borer 262 

Meal snout moth 2^76 

Mediterranean flour moth... 277 
Northern corn root worm... 258 

Rice weevil 273 

Seed corn maggots 249 

Smaller cornstalk borer 264 

Southern corn root worm. . . 255 

.Sugar-cane borer 262 

White grub 251 

Wircworms 245 

Irrigation : 

Amount of 187 

F'rcquency of i86 



INDEX 



367 



Irrigation, methods of 184 

I'reparation of land 183 

Time of 183, 186 

Inspection, rules of 2 

JudginR: 

Hints in 75 

Rules for 7 

Kernel, chemical composition of 18, 

Kerosene as an insect destroyer 255 

Labor: 

Influences cost of growing. . . 299 

Statistical treatment of 304 

Leaf, characteristics of 

Leguminous crops: 

Alfalfa 5 

Cowpeas: 

In corn land 167 

Methods of cultivation.... 47 

\'arieties of 47 

Soy beans: 

Methods of cultivation.... 50 

X'arictics of 50 

Length of ear, measuring 80 

Listing: 

Cost of 306 

Success of 114 

INIaize in other countries — 

Chapter .Will 331340 

Manures, see Fertilizers. 

Marketing — Chapter XIII ..224-240 

Marketing, methods of 225 

Markets: 

Home market the best 225 

Selling on 'change 229 

.Speculative 230 

Maturity, influence upon feed 

value 141 

Mexico, crop of 334 

-Milling, improvement of corn.. 313 

Monoecious character of plant. 5 

Movement ten years of United 

States crop 361 

New luigland: 

Culture in 174 

Early growtli best in 176 

Flint varieties in -^2 

\'arieties adapted to 27, ^2 

Xcw uses of corn — Chapter 

,^.. ^VI 312-317 

Aitrogen: 

Amount required 98 

Corn as a gatherer of 341 

Methods of obtaining 40 

\'alue as fertilizer 39 

Nurse crops: 

Harvesting 43 

Oats 41 

Rye 41 

^ \\'heat 43 

Nutrients digestible: 

Amount of 192, 362 

Distribution of 211 



Oil, importance of corn 234 

Origin, present theories i 

Paris green 260,261 

Phosphoric acid, amount re- 
quired 100 

Plant food: 

Elements necessary 37 

Forms of atmospheric t,-j 

Supplied through root svstem 38 

Tubercles, formation of 38 

Plant breeding, possibilities of. 10 
Plant growth, conditions of.... 37 

Planter, use of 118 

Planting: 

Checkrow and drill systems.. 178 

Depth of Ill 

Labor required in 307 

Time of n i 

Planting and cultivating — Chap- 
ter VIII 111-123 

Plowing: 

Condition of soil for 91 

Cost of 304 

Depth of S3 

Spring or fall 86 

Under stalks 89 

Pod corn 7 

Pollen, jiroduction of 5 

Pollenization, corn cross-pol- 
linated 64 

Potash : 

Amount required 100 

IMuriate of 248 

Value as fertilizer 40 

Popcorn: 

Cultivation of 328 

Marketing 329 

N'arieties of 329 

Poultry, experiments in feed- 
ing 208 

Preparing the seedbed — Chap- 
ter VI 83-91 

Prices for thirty years at Chi- 
cago ;}6o 

Principles of corn growth and 

feeding — Chapter III ....37-54 
Protein, experiment showing 

per cent of 29 

Pruning of roots 120 

Ripeness, determining 80 

Root, characteristics of 6 

Roumania, crop of 340 

Russia, crop of 339 

Score card: 

Example of ^2 

Uses of 71 

Seed corn: 

Selection in field S7 

Shipping 68 

Storehouse for 66 

.Selection, eflFect of 12 



^68 



INDEX 



Shape: 

Grades of 76 

Oi kernel 80 

Shocking, difference in soulli- 

crn method 17; 

Shredder, use of 153 

Shrinkage of ear corn, exper- 
iments in 1 60 

Silage: 

And field-cured fodder 218 

Ana roots 220 

Cost of putting u]) 137 

Covering 136 

Cutting 13s 

Handling uncut 136 

Loading and hauling 134 

Silos, location, construction and 

filling — Chapter JX ....124-139 

Silos: 

As preserver of feed 137 

Brick 131 

Capacity of cylindrical IJ9 

Cement lining in 131 

Classes of 1 24 

Doors of 1^7 

Location 1 24 

Putting corn into 132 

Round 125 

Size of 127 

Stave ^26 

Stone 13 

With studding 128 

Smut: 

Chemical composition of 286 

Controlling the disease 287 

Corn most affected by 284 

Effects upon animal life. . . . 286 

Extent of injury from 278 

Habits of 282 

Spores, production of 282 

Use as food 286 

Soft corns 

Soil: 

Bringing up worn out 17R 

I'ood available in 93 

Influence on development... 60 

Preparation in breeding 61 

Sandy 93 

Typical 9- 

Soiling, adaptability of corn to 222 

Soil: 

Conservation of moisture.... 119 
Different types of 98 

Space between rows undesirable 81 

Specialties in corn culture — 

Chapter W'll 318-330 

Starch, production of 234 

States growing surplus 224 

Steers, experiments in fattening 202 

Stover: 
Coarse valuable 212 



.Stover, compared with timothy 



211, 213 

h'eeding with clover 214 

{•"ceding with hay 215 

l'"eeding with timothy and 

clover 216 

Feeding value of 2:2 

Increasing the value of 214 

Utilization of 209 

Weight of northern and 

southern 164 

Suhsoiling, advantage of 88 

Supply, visible in United States 

and Canada 361 

Sweet corn : 

Best conditions for 19 

l-'or canneries 318 

For the family garden 322 

Harvesting 323 

Planting and cultivating. 320, 322 

ILsc of fodder 324 

X'arietics of 326 

Taxation, influences cost 302 

Teams, cost of maintenance. . . . 300 
Teosinte, similarity to corn.... 2 

Tip, filling of 77 

Trans|)ortation, means of 226 

I'niformity : 

Of cars 77 

()f kernels 81 

United States, position in 

world's crop 332 

Use as food by Indians 4 

N'alue of corn, to increase.... 195 
X'arieties: 

Develop rather than change.. 71 

Other general 36 

Standard of jierfection 74 

Warehouses: 

Public grain 227 

Type of English 232 

Water and dry matter 142 

Weedcrs: 

Cultivator, ideal 123 

Cultivator, knife 123 

Disk ...■ 122 

Harrow 122 

Weeds, effect on crop 120 

Weight maximum 147 

Wild plant, never identified... 2 
Yield: 

.At various stages 193 

How to grow heavy 176 

2SS bushels to the acre 172 

... 8 
8 
7 
8 
6 
.... 8 
7 



Zea amvlacea 

Zea amlyea-saccharata 

Zea everta 

Zca. indurata 

Zca Mays, groups of. . 

Zea saecharata 

Zea tunicata 



ADVERTISEMENTS 




"APPLETON QUALITY" 

is a pair of words wliich has come to have a 
fixed use as a standard of measurement, 
arising from comparing agricultural imple- 
ments ma<ie by other concerns with those 
made by the Appleton Mfg. Co., of Batavia, 
111., U. S. A. In the long list of goods made 
by this concern there are 
_ M none which better show 

■^^d^ws. — J^. the pre-eminent worth of 

.//tfiWl ^IB"; Appleton Quality than the 

three machines shown on 
this page. 

THE APPLETON is posit i- 
CORN HUSKER ^ely guar 

a n t e e d , 

under the .same conditions 
of operation, to do more 
and better work, and to require less power for successful operation, than 
any other machine of like character and corresponding size on the market, 
and it is sold at a price w hich hts the purse. 

O 

THE NEW HERO FORCE never becomes 
FEED CORN SHELLER clogged, fouled or 
disabled, but al- 
ways delivers the corn to the picker 
wheels, no matter in what condition the 
corn may be, and is unexcelled for good, 
clean, rapid work. 

■ — O 

THE NEW HERO ENSIUGE 
AND FODDER CLTTERS 

are justly celebrated for 
simplicity of construc- 
tion, strength and dura- 
bility , ease of operation, 
rapid and effective 
work, and are made, 
with or without self 
feed tables, in sizes car- 
rying from 9-in. up to 

Our space admits of merely a men- Vj j ^ 26-in. knives. 

tion of the extensive line of feed 
grinders, hand and power corn 
shellers, wood .saws, tread powers, 
windmills, etc., made by this conciMii 
and everywhere recognized as stand- 
ard articles of their kind, but a postal 
card addressed to the company, men- 
tioning THE BOOK OF (^ORN, will 
bring you a large illustrated catalog, 
fully describing all the goods, and 
without cost to you. 

APPLETON MFG. CO. 

55 Fargo St.. Batavi&, 111., U. S. A. 





ADVERTISEMENTS 



RECORD CROPS GROWN WITH THE 

MAPES MANURES 

" American Agriculturist" Prize Potato- Growing Contest. Yields from one meas- 
ured acre. All records surpassed by the .\iape.. Potato Manure. " A'eio secrets in 
Nature's Laboratory." The tiro larfiest mips of Potatoes erer grown with ferti- 
lizers or farm manure groiiu irith the Mapes Potato Manure alone. 

The following were the Larprest Cropn of potatoeB grown in each state — and all these 
cropR were smwii e.rrliisirely with the Mapes Potato Manure: 
Maiue, Aroostook County . ..... 745 bushels 

The larRest erop ever grown in Maine. Second largest ever grown 
with fertilizers. 
Colorado ...... 847 bushels 

•• The largest crop ever grown with fertilizers or manure." 
Massachusetts . ...... R.Vi bushels 

Connecticut! ........ 390 bushels 

The largest cropf" grown in Massachusetts and Connecticut in sea- 
son IH.'S!) (2.SII and 'MO bushels) were also grown with the Mapes 
Potato Manure. 
Minnesota ... . . . . .'!2.') bushels 

Idaho .......... 470 bushels 

The largest <Tnps In each state grown with other fertilizers and farm 
manures, season ls:w, were as follows :—o'Jj, !/-2'2, 506, .351, 32,'), 319 and 307 bushels 
per acre. 

SUMMING UP THE POTATO CONTESTS 

In seventeen states in which the largest crop was grown with fertilizers, 1S.S9 and 
lS90,7e« crops were grown exclusively with the Majius Potato Manure; M", 745, t'HaS, .W2, 
479, 4U<). 4L"K, 39/f and .'iLM bushels per acre. 

Average yield per acre, .VJ2 bushels. 

In the.^ei'pw stitesin which the largest crop was grown with fertilizers other than 
the Mapes. the yields were as follows: .MKi, 4,i4, 444, 401 , >'i25, .•?19 and f*M bushels per acre 

Avenige yield jur :icre, :'M bushels. 

The Great Corn Contest of the American Agriculturist 

Crops 31 J, iiq andgs Bushels Each ; Grmvn on One Measured Acre 

Exclusively with the Mapes Corn Manure. 

Of this great crop, 21.'5 bushels shelled com. grown in Yates Countv, N Y.. with the 

Mapes Com Miinure (SOO pounds per acre) exclusively, the AuieneiMi .Agriculturist siys: 

"If we allow only *15 as the value of the tops f.>r fnddcr. anil make no account of 

bottnin stalks, thecost conies within twenty cents ii bushel (shelled com) " 

'l"he largest erop grown with fertilizirs other than the Mapes (4.'i crops in all) was M 
bushels (ehemieally dried, 'io Imsliels). 

Some Large Crops Grown with the Mapes Corn Manure and Reported in 
the Agricultural Press. 

Season of ISS.'!— 1040 bnslielsnf ei>rn — ears-on less than 4 1-2 acres, equal to2.'Kl-2 
bushels, or UK ."-4 bushels shelled corn per acre, grown on farm of Rural Xew Yorker, 
with the Mapes Corn Manure. 

Xinety bushels shelled— with ."iOO pounds per acre. I.tO bushels— shelled— with rtlO 
pounds per acre. Value of the grain alone over five times as much as the cost of the 
fertilizer. — American .Virrieiilturist 

Kight hundred and flttv-si\ binhels-ears— on fouracres l.i9..!7 bushels on one acre. 
125.."; bushels im one acre. ' Nothing used but the Mapes. — Rural Xew Yorker. 

On two acres <'.IH> pminds of Mapes alone, broadcast. IIW bushels shelled com. On 
three acres, same fertilizers, same quantity Four hundred and eighty-nine bushels- 
ears grown by Dr. Henry Stewart— Xew England Homestead. 

One hundred and eighty bushels of ears per acre; shelled, 9.'*.45 bushels. 20.W 
bushels— ears— on sixteen acres. Only Mapes, .S(Hi pounds per acre, used —Connecticut 
Farmer. 

The Mapes Formula & Pertivian Guano Co., 

143 Liberty St«, New York. 



AD\'KRTISEMEXTS 



How to Make Poor Farms 



Good Dividend Payers 



In Rural New-Yorker, November 22d, 1899, Mr. H. W. CoUingwood, In liis 
account of bringing up a poor farm, by Mr. Newton Osborn, Newingtou, lU., 
says: " Mr. Osborn thought at that time tliat tlie ability to feed a soil was 
measured by tlie supply of anim:il manure. He tirst proved tliat a high- 
grade complete fertilizer will fully take tlie place of manure. That point 
settled, he had the key to the situation, and applied it. Instead of being a 
soil loafer, that field began at once to pay a profit. It was so poor that it 
had never paid even the interest on the taxes. In six years It was paying 
dividends of 5 per cent, on a valuation of over $40(X). Where can one lind, 
outside of a gold mine, an instance where poor soil has gained proportion- 
ately greater earning capacity in six years'.'" "Corn the ' key ' crop." 

HEADS THE LIST— 150 Fertilizers— FOR CHEAP- 
NESS TO THE FARMER. The Mapes 
Seeding-Down Manure 

For seeding down Spring and Fall, also for Apple, Peach and all Fruit 
Orchards, Urapes, Small Fruits, etc. A land strengtheuer. 

Ammonia. Plios. Acid. Fotu:ih. 

Guaranteed analysis, per cent . • . 3.00 18.00 lo.oo 
Average of analysis bv the Conn. Agricultural 

Station for 12 YEARS .... 3.22 17.39 11.50 

Heads the list in the Official Report 1901 of the Con- 
necticut Agricultural Experiment Station as showing 
the least difference between cost to the farmer and 
the calculated market value of plant food contained. 

See OtHcial Report, wn, for Official Analyses aoo different 
brands) OctobeJ- 31, laol 

Send for descriptive pamphlets. Orange groves 800 acres. Strawberries 
230 acres. Asparagus l«5 acres, Potatoes loo acres, etc. 

The Mapes Formula & Peruvian Guano Co., 
143 Liberty St., New York. 



ADVERTISEMENTS 



Complete Line Hand Corn Huskers 




No B. Nickel Plated St 



t <;ilf SI rap. liuckle Adjiistiueut 




HUSKING PINS 

These round steel pins are known the world over. Have heen on 
the market since 1888 and thousands of huskers give testimonials of 
their value. 

HOOK HUSKERS 
Tlooks have come into use 
(huiuK the last five years. Some 
fanners .say they can husk twice 
as much with a Hook. This 
comes on the thumb and leaves 
lingers free to grasj) the ear. 
The cut reprcscntsa Hook com- 
bined witli a wrist supjjorter to 
strengthen the wrist. 

HUSKING MITTENS 

Have been in general use 
for years, but not consiilered 
so much a necessity as now — 
made in all weights antl sizes 
of ("anton Flannel, Duck and 
Ticking. 

We manufacture a com- 
plete line of Husking (ioods 
for hand use : 

CLOVES and MITTENS, WKIST STTPPORTERS, PINS, COTS, 
PROTECTIONS tor thumb, tinger or w'hole haml— above comprises 
some 50 Styles and Lot Nos. 

■\Ve manufacture also full line — some 100 Styles and Lot Nos — of 
COTTON OLO\ES and MITTENS used in general work, as well as 
corn husking. 

All our goods are soM onlil llirou(ih the Jobbiim Trade, 
hut irhile ne do uol ri.tit or sell retail trade ire slioiild 
be pleased to adrise anil nuisiiiiifr or retailer irliere he 
can find our line. 

THE BOSS MANUFACTURING CO. Kewane., iii 




ADVERTISEMENTS 



To Properly Prepare Cornstalks for Feed — Use 

DI^CC ^^^^ SAVING 
KVJJJ IMPLEMENTS 

Namely: Ensilage Cutters, Fodder Cutters 
and Shredders, and Corn Huskers 




Furnished with Blower or Carrier as desired 
With or Without Traveling Feed Table 

The Ross MacJiiucs arc knozun the zvorld over for 
their Strength, Capacity, etc. 

Write to us for Catalog and Feed Saving Literature 
and send Ten Cents for Prof Woll's Book on Silage 



Address J^E £. W. ROSS CO, Springfield. Ohio 



ADVERTISEMENTS 




ADVERTISEMENTS 




MAR 24 1903 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



D0DEbfl23D31 • 




